The Doors of Death
by Vandalism
Summary: My book is after the Last Olympian and is before the Lost Hero. This is my first fanfic, and it's kinda old. Hope you like it!
1. Mrs Dodds Returns Sort Of

*1*

Mrs. Dodds Returns…Sort of

It was finally starting to look like my entire year would go normal, no freak incidents, and school seemed average so far. It was the last day of school, and nothing unusual happened. No monsters, nothing.

I sprinted toward my Greek history class, late as always.

I burst into the room, looking like an idiot.

"You-you're late again Percy." Standing there was my Mythology teacher, Mr. Motsenbocker. He was starting to go bald and stuttered a lot, always seeming nervous. Of course, being the immature kids we were, we always made fun of him for that.

I walked in and quietly sat down, while everyone was staring at me in silence.

"A-As I was saying…the Greeks had to come up with a…uh…way to explain all of the…err…natural occurrences in nature. Who created the sky, or-or why do stars shine in the day…," he sighed, "or the night, rather..."

My classmates were jotting down notes as Mr. Motsenbocker went on with his lecture. Some students were snickering at his stuttering and mistakes.

"P-Percy," he called, stuttering once again, "who is the sea of the god, I-I mean the god of the sea?"

"Poseidon, of course," I answered. That was a coincidence.

"Okay. Kristy, who's the god of the s-sky?" Mr. Motsenbocker asked.

"Uhhh…" Silence. A few people giggled.

"It's Zeus," Mr. Motsenbocker answered for her, seeming proud that he may have actually taught us something. "Th-This is a really easy and…uh...fascinating subject if you're interested it. This should n-not be very difficult. Okay, n-now open your text books to page…" As usual I zoned out for the rest of class, convinced that there was nothing he could teach me that I didn't already know, being a demi-god and all. I just prayed the class would be over quick so I wouldn't have to continue to watch Mr. Motsenbocker's self esteem (or confidence whichever you'd prefer) drop with every snicker from the class. Teenagers could be so cruel, which made me wonder why he ever became a teacher in the first place… Just thought I'd add some more detail here to make the story a little more interesting, feel free to change or remove if you'd like.

Finally, I heard the bell ring, releasing me from this dull prison of a class.

Afterwards, I walked out to the parking lot where we have a break between classes. I never really hung out in a particular group, but I tried to keep social. There are the usual types of people you see in almost about _every _school.

First, there are the jocks, who go around showing off their clothes or talking about how awesome they are. Then, there are the popular girls, in their little clique speaking about the next Twilight movie. "Oh my gawd, isn't Robert Pattinson such a hottie?" I heard one of them say, as I lost a little more hope for humanity.

Then you have the other groups: the loners, the bullies, the nerds, and the just regular people.

So far the only few I've befriended are Mary Owen, Dan Miller, and Mike Hoang, all juniors in high school, like me. Mary had elegant blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and freckles that dotted her cheeks. She always had the fashion of the time and never looked plain. Today she wore her favorite pink sweater and dark skinny jeans, simple, but still stylish, as usual. Unlike most popular girls, she doesn't like to exclude people or limit herself to any particular clique; she's just friends with everyone.

Dan was a rather gaunt kid with ruffled brown hair and deep brown eyes. He never really spoke much; he was the typical quiet type. You would think he's miserable, but truthfully, he's a great guy, he just doesn't get out often. He wore a polo a size too big and baggy pants.

And then, you have Mike. He's sort of the opposite, always happy and looking on the bright side of things. He has sleek black hair and dark brown eyes, with a big grin that seems to perpetually occupy his face. He wore oval shaped glasses and was 17 years old, like the rest of us.

"So how's it going?" Mary asked.

"It's great! I got a 100 on my algebra test!" exclaimed Mike. He's always the smart one, not surprisingly…

"Well, I didn't have it so easy." I said. "I made another D in my literature class. I hate Ms. Bushwookie." Man, I swear my teachers' names keep getting weirder and weirder. "She's always so hard on me."

As if on cue, right as I said the word _hate_, Ms. Bushwookie appeared behind me, seemingly from nowhere. My friends' eyes widened and looked like they just saw death.

"Percy Jackson," she said sternly, "Come with me."

My friends mouthed _Come back alive _and _Good luck_. I walked off reluctantly, and followed Ms. Bushwookie into the main building. As I closed the door, Ms. Bushwookie turned and stared at me….

"Ms. Bushw...?_ Whoa_!" I exclaimed. She had glowing black eyes, like burning charcoal

The only other time I've seen those eyes were when I was 12, 5 years ago. It was when I was first starting to get the hang of all of this Greek mythology, and my demon Pre-Algebra teacher, Mrs. Dodds, one of the terrifying Furies, attacked me….unless.

"I have been waiting to see this happen, Perseus Jackson. To see the end of your life!" Ms. Dodds said coldly.

Then she sprang at me. Her skin peeled off, her fingers grew talons, and she sprouted out wings of a bat from Hades. Instinctively, I reached towards my pocket for my pen. _Pen?_ Yes, pen.But it's not just any ordinary pen. It's an _I'm-going-to-vaporize-you _pen. It was given to me by my instructor, Chiron, during my first encounter with Mrs. Dodds. I uncapped Riptide, formally known as Anaklusmos. Its celestial bronze blade glowed when I drew my sword.

In mid-air, her expression changed, from absolute anger to absolute fear. She quickly beat her wings and she flew up before I could swing Riptide. Our last encounter didn't end to well, and she didn't want to get vaporized again. I looked up and saw her flying in the air, staring down at me with evil eyes.

She swooped down, grabbing at my shirt as I rolled forward. She ripped my shirt, just barely skimming my back. Scowling, she turned, and right at that moment, someone burst through the doors. It was my friend, Annabeth. She stepped back, startled by Mrs. Dodds. She quickly pulled out her bronze knife, carefully watching the Fury. I looked at Annabeth, she had gotten even prettier than the last time I saw her. She was wearing her usual jeans and a hoodie over her orange "camp-Half Blood" T-shirt. Her golden blonde hair wasn't pulled up in a ponytail this time, but instead hung down loose.

Focusing again on the Fury, I jumped to the side of Annabeth.

"Kindly One?" asked Annabeth. I noticed she hadn't used the term Fury. Names are powerful things in this world.

"Yep. She seems pretty mad."

"You think? After you sliced her a few years ago, I think she wants some revenge."

Seeing this as an opportunity, Mrs. Dodds swiftly dove down at breakneck speed towards us. Annabeth and I ducked, dodging the Fury. She slammed into the wall behind us, knocking down a bulletin board. It reminded me of those cartoons of Wile Coyote and the Roadrunner, I almost laughed. But due to the likelihood of my pending death, it seemed inappropriate.

I raised my sword and swung downward. Instantly she turned around and blocked the attack with her gruesome hooked nails.

I tried coming in from the side, but that didn't work. I just got a face-full of mummy breath as she hissed and took off.

I looked at Annabeth hopefully. By looking at her, I could tell she was forming a plan. Athena's children _always_ have plans.

Then Mike and Mary opened the door. "Hey Percy, are you, HOLY…"

They ran in fear, screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Hold on guys…" But they didn't come back. I didn't expect them too, but I wasn't concerned, I had more important matters on my hands right now. But how did they see Ms. Bushwookie as a Fury? Maybe the Mist made her look like a tiger or something, I don't know. You never can judge how mortals will react to the Mist. The Mist was like a magical veil that hid all mythological items or creatures from mortal eyes. Instead, the mortal saw an illusion, a distorted perspective of the world.

"Foolish half-bloods!" Mrs. Dodds screeched as my friends ran away.

"Half-bloods?" I questioned.

But I didn't think too much about it, and just grabbed a nearby textbook and hurled it at Mrs. Dodds. She dodged, and hissed horribly.

"How dare you attack me? I will banish you to the Underworld and torment you for all eternity!" cursed Mrs. Dodds.

An ice cold shiver ran down my spine. I hate ice cold shivers down my spine.

Annabeth suddenly screamed, "Hey! Eat celestial bronze!"

Mrs. Dodds looked in confusion as Annabeth hurled her bronze knife at the Fury. Unfortunately, she missed, and angered the Fury even more. I looked at Annabeth in amazement. That was her only bronze knife and she was now weaponless.

But, to my surprise, she pulled out another celestial bronze knife. This one seemed new and still had its luster. I'd never seen that knife before, and guessed that she must have gotten it not too long ago.

This fight wasn't going anywhere, so I assumed it was time to bring out the last trick up my sleeve.

I closed my eyes, which I thought was kind of stupid. I made me _very _vulnerable, but I knew it would be well worth it if my plan worked. I concentrated on the water in the bathrooms. Yeah, I know it seems weird but don't question what I'm doing just yet. I concentrated hard, but I didn't get a wrenching pain in my gut as I sometimes did when I summoned water.

Just then, a surge of water burst through the bathroom doors. I aimed my hands in the direction of Mrs. Dodds and the water shot at her. She was thrown back to the wall by a torrent of water with a great slam, and the glass doors broke at the force of impact.

She fell to the ground with a thud. Looking up, I saw that her eyes had faded slightly, but they lit up immediately in anger. She stood up, dripping wet. She tried flying, but the water had soaked her wings.

I nonchalantly walked up to her, as if I had all the time in the world, while she stood there defenseless. Staring at me in disgust rather than fear, she made a hopeless attempt to escape, but I pinned her up against the wall with my sword.

"One move and I'll shove this through your body," I said boldly.

"_Erre es korakas!"_ she spat. "Go to the crows!"

I always somehow understand Ancient Greek; I guess it's a half-blood thing.

_Kill her,_ I thought to myself. Like the angel and demon in cartoons, my conscience had begun an argument with itself.

_Let her go_.

_But she tried to kill you! _

_Shut up! She doesn't deserve it. You don't have to kill her._

Finally, I gave in, lowering my sword, and backing away.

The Fury looked at me in amazement. She swallowed down her worry, and stood up straighter, giving me a look, and if looks could kill, I would have been dead on the ground that instant. But then she just disappeared, evaporated even, back to the Underworld.

"That was cool, how you let her go," Annabeth said, picking her other knife up and sheathing it. She blew a stray hair out of her face.

"Well, there's something else," I said.

"Like what?"

"It's what the Fury said that freaked me out. She called my friends half-bloods. Could we have a demigod situation?"

"Well, that would explain why your friends freaked out," Annabeth pointed out.

"Yeah, they must have seen through the Mist."

"Well, we're going to have to go get them before anything else happens."

Annabeth and I ran out the main building and back outside. Hopefully, Mike and Mary haven't gotten too far, or got into even more trouble themselves.


	2. My Friend Plummets 20 Thousand Feet

*2*

My Friend Plummets 20 Thousand Feet

Annabeth and I ran out the building, desperately looking for Mike and Mary. We went around, asking people if they had seen them. We kept on getting the same story. Mike and Mary were sprinting out the main building screaming, "MONSTER BAT! MONSTER BAT!" All of whom we asked pointed towards the gym.

We walked up to the door of the gym, carefully opening it. We walked inside. It was a large enclosure, with bleachers on each side. The gym was a basketball court, with locker rooms at the back, opposite from each other. In the far corner, we spotted Mike and Mary sitting there. They had their knees up, thumbs in their mouths, and were rocking back in forth. Their eyes were wide and scared.

They saw us approaching and immediately began to cautiously back away.

"It's okay, it's me, Percy," I said calmly. We slowly walked towards them. Each step we took forward, they took a step back.

"How do we know it's you? How do we know if you're not one of…" Mike and Mary glanced at each other. "…_them?_" Mike said ghastly.

"Because if I weren't Percy, I wouldn't know that you got a Winnie the Pooh card for your 12th birthday." I said coolly.

"Percy!" both Mike and Mary exclaimed.

"But, what about her?" asked Mary suspiciously.

"She's with me. Mary, Mike, meet Annabeth. Annabeth, meet Mike and Mary."

Annabeth looked at them shyly. She strained a weak, "Hi."

Mike came up to her and placed his arm around her shoulder. Annabeth's face turned cherry red.

"It's ok Anna Marie, we don't bite."

"It's Anna_beth_." Annabeth corrected.

"Right right, Anna_beth_."

"So what _was_ that back there?" Mary asked.

"They were…" Annabeth elbowed me in the stomach.

"What did you see?" she asked.

"A big scary monster bat thingy. It looked like a mutant, naked bat. It had _huge_ wings, long nails, and black eyes that glowed….is that normal?" Mary said.

I almost laughed. _Normal_ isn't really the thing you'd describe a Fury with. Heck, you wouldn't use it to describe anything at times like these.

"What about you Mike?" I asked.

"Same description as her. I couldn't have put it any better myself. What is going _on_?"

"It's a long story."

"I have time, go ahead."

I sighed. "Well, you know all of the Greek gods and goddesses?" Mike and Mary nodded, listening intently.

"All of the mythological monsters and people?" Another set of nods.

"It's real." There was a long silence.

"So, all of those things, those people, you know? Poseidon, Hades, Zeus…" Thunder rolled in the distance at the name of Zeus.

"Hold on." I interrupted. "Names are powerful things. Don't just go around blabbing about mythology. It's a secret among mortals."

"As if we're not?" Mary said.

"Well, you're right, you aren't," admitted Annabeth.

"Annabeth is exactly right. You two are rather powerful. You two, are demigods." I agreed.

"So that means I'm half god-half mortal?" Mike asked. He seemed to be pleased by this idea.

"Yes you are."

"So, I'm like Superman?"

"NO. You can't fly or shoot laser beams." I said.

"You are not acting seriously. This is _life or death_ we're talking about. As a demigod, you are vulnerable to monsters unless you are properly trained." Annabeth explained.

"So _that's _why weird things have been happening to me! I have weird dreams and people try to attack me!" Mike exclaimed.

"Me too! One lady turned into a snake lady before my eyes and charged at me with a spear!" Mary said.

_Dracaena _I said to myself. Last year I had encountered a whole army of them. They had the upper body of a female with snakes for her hair, and two snake tails occupied their lower half.

"Well, if you don't want to run into those guys again, then you're going to have to come with us." Annabeth said seriously.

"Where are you going to take us? Rehab?" said Mary.

"Nope. There's a place called Half-Blood Hill where half-bloods train and survive. It's the only _safe_ place for a demigod…such as you guys."

They thought hard about it.

"Well, it _is _the last day of school." Mary said. Mike nodded in agreement.

"But what our parents? What will happen to them?" Mike asked, obviously concerned.

"Your parents have always known you are demigods. They will be sent a letter notifying them that you are safe." Annabeth answered.

"Well then, I have no objection. I just need to pack my things…"

After Mike and Mary had packed light, we headed off towards Camp Half-Blood.

It was weird that we had found two half-bloods accidentally, without a satyr. Satyrs are usually the ones who find them, but I guess we did pretty well ourselves.

I was still wondering why the Fury had come after me. Either it was for revenge or for a particular reason. I didn't think the Fury would have gone without Hades's permission. But then again, they're Furies. They had rights to right? I decided to keep the idea to myself, but I was sure Annabeth was thinking of the same thing.

"How are we going to get there?" Mike asked.

"Why, by pegasi of course." I answered.

I tried my best whistle. Within minutes, two dark shadows hovered above us. A black pegasus and a white pegasus landed in front of us.

_Sup boss._

"You don't have to call me boss Blackjack!"

"What the…are you talking to that horse Percy?" Mike asked. Mary was staring at the pegasi in awe.

_Hey it's pegasus to you pal!_ Blackjacked whined.

"My father is Poseidon," I explained. "He created horses out of the foam of the sea. Pegasi fall under horses. I'm able to talk to them, but only I can understand them."

_I think horses fall under pegasi _Blackjack said.

"Okay, let's go."

"Wait, hold on," Mary said. "Can, can I ride with Percy? I've had a little history with horses."

I didn't want to ask what happened.

We mounted on our pegasi and flew off. It was kind of unusual that Annabeth wasn't with me. I looked over at Annabeth. She had that same look on her face when she was talking to Rachel Dare. Besides we were in a relationship.

Ever since my last birthday, she and I have been going out. Last year, Annabeth gave me a kiss for my birthday. I still feel embarrassed talking about it. Since then it has been great. But we never had the chance to have a little time to ourselves since we were busy saving the world. I was afraid Annabeth would take it the wrong way.

Flying, Mary gripped my shoulders tight. She must have been afraid of heights. She leaned close to me, careful not to fall. Hopefully Annabeth didn't see this.

Suddenly, Blackjack sort of faltered and lurched. Mary lost her grip, and started slipping. Screaming, she tried desperately to grab a hold of something, but she couldn't get anything. I reached for her arm, but she fell before I could reach.

"Mary!" Mike and I yelled in unison. Annabeth stared in horror.

Screaming, Mary fell down.

"Blackjack, go down!" I ordered.

Obediently, he hurled downward.

"Fold your wings!" I wanted to create as little wind resistance that I could.

We plummeted, 115, 120 miles per hour. I had never been this fast, except for when I shadow-traveled with Mrs. O'Leary.

I was praying I wouldn't be blasted out of the sky. Zeus absolutely hates it when I fly.

I reached out, making a desperate attempt to grab her hand.

Finally, I was close enough to pull her on.

"PULL UP!"

As fast as we went down, Blackjack flew upward and opened up his wings.

_That was awesome!_ he yelled.

Oh yeah. Flying straight down to the ground at speeds you can't even imagine is _awesome_.

Regaining stability, we calmed down for a second. Mary turned a shade of green.

_Hey, not on the wings_ warned Blackjack.

"What happened?" I asked.

_I dunno boss. A gust of wind blew me off._

I took a look at Annabeth for an answer.

"Aeolus, the wind god, might still be wary of air travelers. He must have thought we were enemies."

That made sense. I looked over at Mike. He was just staring at us in shock, and he adjusted his glasses. I guess falling from hundreds of feet is kind of scary. I checked on Mary again.

Mary was now the color of paper. She hugged even tighter on me. I winced and tried focusing on the direction we were headed.

"That was close," I said aloud.


	3. I Water the Demeter Cabin

*3*

I Water the Demeter Cabin

After about 15 minutes, the first glimpses of Camp Half-Blood came into view. It was still as beautiful as the last time I saw it. Its lush green forests covered the northwest corner. Thalia's pine tree marked the property line. The Golden Fleece sparkled in the branches of the tree. Peleus the dragon curled at the bottom of its trunk. It now was about 10 times the size of the pine tree, and almost covered the highest leaf. Now awaked by our presence, he woke up from his snooze.

The camp looked spectacular from a bird's eye view. A fire was burning in the center of the cabins. Last time, it was the shape of a upside-down U. Now it was a complete rectangle. Last year, I was granted a wish by the gods. I had wished that every demigod would be claimed by the age of 13, all minor gods would be honored and given a cabin, and that all those related to the Titans are to be free of punishment.

There was an entirely new section of cabins, which I figured was the rest of the minor gods. I'd say about 20 or 30 cabins in all. The Big House was now painted a cheerful blue and given a lively appearance. The strawberry fields were as abundant as ever, thank Demeter.

Vans were coming in from all directions, small groups of demigods and satyrs traveling towards the campgrounds. Camp members were slowly flocking in as the summer started.

We landed gently in front of the big house, stirring up a commotion. Almost everyone stopped their daily activities. Some campers were whispering to each other. Other ran up to greet us. Familiar faces greeted us. The Stoll brothers, Connor and Travis, came up with a happy face. Chris Rodriguez and Clarisse La Rue were coming around the corner, arms around each other. Once they made eye contact with me, Chris kept his smile, but Clarisse quickly changed to a disappointed look, like I just ruined her day. Which I probably did.

Jake Mason was concentrated on making a sword, and then he looked up and saw me and gave me a grin. Katie Gardner had just planted some flowers on the Demeter cabin and had a delighted look. Pretty much everyone I knew was there to greet me.

To top it off, Chiron rolled out of the Big House. I guess he had expected for new demigods to come, so he had taken his wheelchair form.

He came up to me with a smile on his face.

"Hello Percy." He said. "Annabeth."

"And who do we have here?" wondered Chiron.

"Chiron," Annabeth started. "this is Mike and Mary. They are new demigods."

"Pleased to meet you." Chiron said as he shook both of their hands.

"Let us come inside the Big House, and have a little chat, shall we?"

Chiron led them inside the Big House.

"It's hard explaining things to newcomers," I said.

"Yeah, but you gotta do what you gotta do," said Annabeth.

"So what were you doing at New York High?" I asked.

"Just visiting. I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by. Good thing I did too."

"Yeah. Hey, where'd you get that other knife?"

"Thought it would be better to carry around a spare or to use it as a double. Sweet huh? Jake made it for me about 2 months ago."

"That's cool."

Then Clarisse walked into the conversation. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the two love birds, Percy and Annabeth." she said in a sing-song voice.

"Shut up Clarisse," pestered Annabeth.

"Hey, don't start with me!" threatened Clarisse.

"Whatever. I don't tease you about you and Chris."

Clarisse was really starting to get angry. But she managed to control her anger and took a deep breath. I was unusual of her to give out. Maybe someone put her on anger management therapy, I don't know.

"Fine. Have it your way." She stormed off towards Chris. In the Battle of the Labyrinth, Chris was found in the Labyrinth driven insane. Clarisse stood by his side, comforting him even though her efforts were hopeless. Since Mr. D, or Dionysus, cured him, they've been in a relationship. I'm fine with it.

We now went our own ways. Annabeth strolled over to the Athena cabin members, and I headed to my own cabin. As I stepped in, I wasn't very much surprised. The cabin was neat and tidy. All of the garbage was neatly cleaned and disposed of, and every item was put back to its place.

Tyson, my cyclops brother, might have visited earlier and fixed things up a bit. Seashells littered the ceiling, held up by a fishing net, which gave the room the sea-like touch. The walls were painted a soothing blue, corresponding to a brilliant day at sea. My fountain glowed in the corner. Made of stone and marble, a fish was carved jumping, and a spout of water trickled from its mouth. It was a gift to me from my father, Poseidon. The broad window and the other side of the cabin had sunlight shining through it, and made a small rainbow at the fountain. I approached the fountain and dug in the pits of my jean's pocket for a drachma.

I managed to fish one out and said, "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Grover Underwood"

I tossed in the drachma, and it disappeared in the colors of the rainbow. An image began to form and focus. I slowly began to make out the shape of Grover's body. Once the image was clear enough, I saw that he was in a conversation with several trees. I knew those trees where dryads, tree nymphs.

"Grover! Hey, Grover!" I called.

Grover looked around puzzled. Then he looked in my direction and his face lit up.

"Percy! Um, excuse for just a moment folks." He walked over to me with a smile.

"Hey Percy! How are you doing? Are you okay?"

"Hold on Grover, I'm fine. Am I interrupting?"

"Oh no, it's fine. So what's up?"

"Annabeth and I found two new half-bloods at my school."

"Wow, without a satyr? Any monster trouble?"

"Yeah, one F…Kindly One."

"Jeez. Glad to know you guys are okay."

"So how's being the Lord of the Wild?"

"It's great. I've rallied up support to protect the Wild. Though some nymphs won't believe me. It's been a little difficult. You know what, I'll visit camp later."

"Wow that would be great. We can talk later then."

"Sure Percy. Talk to you later." He swiped his hand over the image and he disappeared.

Suddenly I heard a piercing scream of terror. I rushed outside just to feel searing heat.

Across the commons area, the Demeter cabin was blazing green.

_Greek fire._ Greek fire is a magical fire that can burn anywhere. And it's green.

Flowers and bushes had caught on fire and the fire was quickly spreading. The one who had screamed was Katie Gardner.

"Percy, do something!" she pleaded.

I looked around in panic, thinking of what to do. I concentrated hard, but it was difficult to concentrate over so much pressure and heat. I tried concentrating on the water from the creek. A pain in my gut started to hurt.

It was hard summoning water from a distance. Then, water burst from the ground. I willed it to douse the fire and it arched in the air and targeted the cabin. The water must have also come from underground.

_More,_ I ordered.

The water grew larger and quickly extinguished the fire.

If I had used saltwater it would have poisoned the ground, causing plants to wither and die. That would have been pointless on the Demeter cabin. Good thing I knew this kind of stuff.

"Oh thank the gods!" Katie exclaimed.

A whole crowd had formed by the sidelines. Chiron was sitting by Mike and Mary. Everyone had shocked expressions, but now it turned into joy. Annabeth, Mike, and Mary ran towards me.

"Percy that was _amazing_!" Mary complimented.

"That was epic!" Mike exclaimed.

I looked expectantly at Annabeth, but she just crossed her arms and said, "Nice job Seaweed Brain."

Mike chuckled.

I went up to Katie, who was crying hard. Half of the cabin was in ashes and charred

"Katie, what happened?" I asked.

"Stupid Ares kids. They thought it would be funny to set the cabin on fire because they were jealous we got 5 out of 5 every inspection. They threw Greek fire at the beautiful rosebushes!" she cried.

Then, a familiar voice sounded from behind the mass of people.

"Percy! Percy! HELP!"

Pushing through the crowd, Grover appeared with a terrified look on his face.

"Percy! It's the Python! It's here!"


	4. Mike Saves My Neck

*4*

Mike Saves My Neck

"Python?"

"Yes, _the_ Python," Grover said.

"What's it doing here?"

"It's searching for someone, or something, I'm not sure. It keeps inspecting everything."

I turned to Annabeth, who usually had an answer.

"The Python was an enemy of Apollo," she stated dully.

"But Apollo isn't here. So the Python must be after a demigod. Maybe it's Michael it's after.

"_She_," Annabeth corrected.

Suddenly someone said, "Everybody, suit up! The Python is huge!" It was Clarisse. She was already in bronze battle armor.

_Forget the armor, I'm going for it_ I thought to myself.

I tapped my wristwatch. A dazzling bronze shield spiraled out from the center of the watch. Tyson had made it for me a few years back, and he had engraved scenes of us in battles against monsters. The beautiful design shimmered in the broad daylight.

I ran to the property line and there it was. It isn't like the python you would imagine, because it wasn't actually a snake. It looked exactly like a dragon. It was "huge", as Clarisse said. It had small wings, four clawed legs, and a tail with an arrow-shaped tip. It was having a difficult time struggling to get through the magical border.

Clarisse and several other Ares children ran over to it, taunting and angering it by poking their swords at the massive body of the Python.

Hissing, the Python swatted them away to the ground with its paw and hissed. They warily got up, beaten. The Python bared its fangs, which measured to be about 2 feet, and prepared to pick them off one by one.

Before it could, I ran up to it and yelled, "Hey ugly! Over here!" I waved my sword in the air.

The Python recoiled a bit at the sight of the glowing celestial bronze, but soon began to regain courage. It stared at me with eyes of a master planner, calculating plans and studying her enemy. Its yellow eyes seemed to look right into my soul. I shuddered.

She began to attack, raising her right hand preparing to strike. She struck as quick as lightning, and I dived to the side. I looked up. Where I was standing a second ago was now a crater. Yikes.

I heard war cries coming from the camp. The Apollo cabin was all dressed in armor and ready with bows and arrows.

An Apollo demigod ran up with three notched arrows. The Python hissed at him, and he dropped his weapons and ran off, screaming like a girl.

I got up and started to circle the Python as it was being distracted by the archers. I jumped on its back and tried stabbing it in the head, but the Python lashed back and forth trying desperately to fling me off. I tightened my grip around its neck.

I lost grip and I tried to grab a hold on something. I fell, but managed to grab its small wing. It felt coarse and bumpy. I held on as best as I could, but I slipped and I was flung at a tree. The excruciating pain shot up my spine and it knocked the wind right outta me. I laid on the ground catching my breath and looked up to see Annabeth approaching the Python.

Annabeth ran up to the Python and stared into its eyes. It was like a Western showdown.

Annabeth was the first to make a move. The Python aimed for Annabeth, but missed by just a few inches. Annabeth did an awesome super agent slide under the Python. She got up and tried stabbing the Python's back, but the Python's tail slammed her against a nearby tree.

"Annabeth!" I yelled.

Angry, I stood up and charged. But I just ended up on my backside. The Python had hit me in the gut and knocked me down into the grass. It reared up, ready to swallow me whole.

But then, an arrow suddenly penetrated its throat. Then another pierced its head.

I looked around, trying to find out who it was. I saw Mike with a bow and quiver, staring in amazement at his abilities.

Looking back at the Python, it was slowly disintegrating into the air.

I stared at Mike unbelieving. Then everyone seemed to come back into reality, and everyone cheered for Mike.

Standing up, I rushed towards Mike.

Nobody knew his name so they just shouted, "Hooray," and "Oh yeah!"

I ran up to him and said, "Mike that was awesome! How'd you do that?"

"I don't know. I picked it up from the ground, and I saw you guys were in trouble so I tried it out. Sweet, huh?"

"Nope." He looked at me, puzzled.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" I exclaimed.

His smile returned. Mary was delighted and Annabeth looked rather disapproving but she too, managed a smile.

Chiron wheeled his wheelchair in front of us.

"Very impressive for an untrained demigod," he complimented. "I have given them the "talk" and now they are ready to join Camp Half- Blood. Now, let me show you my true form."

Chiron began to rise from his wheelchair and from his waist down, he was a white stallion. He was actually a centaur, a half-man half-horse. His fake legs hid his lower half, and his magical wheelchair concealed it.

Just like every new kid that comes here, they stared at him with their jaws hanging.

"Please don't stare at me," Chiron said.

They quickly closed their mouths and looked away.

Later, we had dinner in the pavilion. Mike and Mary were seated at the Hermes table, because every new demigod who comes to camp stays in the Hermes cabin until they're claimed by their immortal parent. I glanced at Annabeth. She was having a fun time with her siblings, but kept taking a quick glance at Mike and Mary.

"Attention every one!" Chiron stomped his hoof on the marble floor. "Tonight we will introduce, Mike Hoang and Mary Owen, the two most recently added campers!" There was a ringing applause and a bunch of cheering.

I looked up at Chiron. He was standing on his horse legs observing the mess hall. Then, I first noticed Mr. D, or otherwise known as Dionysus. You're probably thinking what a god like Dionysus would be doing here at this lame camp. Well, he's been sent here by Zeus as a punishment for falling in love with a wood nymph who was considered "off-limits." He was stuck here for another 50 years.

He was rather a fat slob, unfair, and really hated kids. _Especially_ me. He was slouching in his chair looking extremely bored. Hopefully, he doesn't know I'm saying this.

"I would like Mike and Mary to please step forward." Chiron added.

Mike and Mary walked up to Chiron and waited for what was coming.

"Please welcome these two bright children! Make them feel welcome, and introduce yourself. Give them a big hand!" A loud applause filled the pavilion.

"Now, you may also know that Mike here has thwarted the mighty Python with a mere arrow. I see that he will be an excellent archer!" Chiron announced. "Now, let us prepare for tonight's Capture the Flag!"

But no one moved. They were all looking at Mary.

A pinkish glow had begun to wrap around Mary. Then an image of a white dove had shown above her head. Mike was staring at Mary in astonishment.

"That's a symbol of Aphrodite," said an Aphrodite cabin member.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Chiron decided, "we have our newest Aphrodite member!"

The entire Aphrodite cabin stood up, shouting cheers and clapping.

It was obvious. Mary was Aphrodite's child.


	5. My Heart Is Broken

*5*

My Heart Is Broken

**W**e were all stunned. So the Fury was right. Mary was a half-blood. But what about Mike? Whose child is he?

"We will postpone the rest of the activities of tonight because of this unexpected event." Chiron announced.

Some people groaned and moaned but we were all too dazed to worry much. We went back to our cabins or went to talk to friends, but I stayed behind. I ran up to Mary who was surrounded by several of the Aphrodite members. Chiron was standing behind them waiting for the group to clear. I pushed through them and went to Mary. She was obviously confused about what happened but she quickly had found out the concept.

She looked at me and said, "Percy, I'm a daughter of Aphrodite!"

I looked at her funny. She smiled at her obviousness.

"Ahem." Chiron cleared his throat to get our attention.

The Aphrodite cabin trudged off, mouthing words of joy to Mary.

"Mary," Chiron said softly. Mary turned and listened."Because you are claimed by your parent, Aphrodite, you are now in more danger than you were before. Fortunately, you are not a child of the Big Three. Remember our discussion?" Mary nodded.

"I am now going to move you to the Aphrodite cabin. You should get along just fine with them." Mary smiled and ran off towards the cabin.

I turned to Chiron. He seemed to be in deep thought.

"Chiron?"

"Yes child?"

"Back at the school, I ran into one of the Kindly Ones." Chiron's brow raised in interest.

"Mary and Mike had burst in the building and saw her, and ran off. She called them 'foolish half-bloods.' If Mary has been claimed, why not Mike?"

"Patient child. The gods will claim their children when the time is right. I have a feeling Mike will be claimed soon enough. I have a hypothesis about which cabin Mike will be in."

I thought about it hard. Chiron was always the right person to talk to.

That's when I remembered Grover. It was well in the middle of 6 o' clock, and I guessed he was in the woods.

I predicted correct. He was hugging Juniper when I arrived. Juniper opened her eyes and saw me and immediately let go of Grover. Grover turned around to see what the problem was. He looked down in embarrassment when he saw me.

"It's okay man, I understand."

"Thanks Percy. You're always a good friend."

"So what's up?"

"Well, I was just telling Juniper that I was going to leave tomorrow. You know, duty calls."

"You mean the _wild_ calls."

"Ha. Call of the Wild. That was a good book."

"You read it?"

"Yeah. The author, Jack London, based it off the cruelty in world as it was to the animals without Pan. It makes me more determined to complete my mission. Jack London was a child of Demeter!"

Wow. I'm still surprised how Greek mythology fits into our American society.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear you're leaving. How's the wild coming along?"

"It's pretty easy. Since I've been treated as the Lord of the Wild things have been shaping up well. Though still refuse Pan has died, and won't listen."

I tried to empathize for him. I knew Grover was working his furry rump off to keep his word to Pan. Two years ago, Grover found Pan, and promised to tell the wild that the great god Pan has died, and to protect their own little part of the wild.

"Well, you should get some sleep," I said.

"Yeah, good idea." Grover walked off with Juniper to his small tent. Right next to the junipers.

I sighed and sleepily walked back to the Poseidon cabin. I sat on my bed. Looking around, it seemed so warm and cozy. But loneliness overwhelmed the room.

What god or goddess is Mike's parent? Like Chiron said, patience. I'll just have to wait and see. I went outside to get some fresh air. The sun was setting in the distance. A pretty sight to see in these days.

I looked around. The usual U-shape of the cabins was now a rectangle. All of the cabins were in their original position. However, at the rear, six new cabins were added to the twelve.

Next to the Hermes cabin was the Hades cabin. It was made of black marble, with a silver door and silver windows. On the window sill was a Hades figurine from the game Mythomagic. Nico's old favorite trading card game.

Then, across the commons were Nemesis, Enyo, Eros, and Hebe.

The Nemesis cabin was painted blood red and night black. It didn't seem taken care of very well, because the window panes were hanging from their hinges, cracks in the windows, and the grass around the cabin was turning yellow.

The Enyo cabin was made of shining bronze. Being the goddess of war, Enyo had many of the attributes of Ares. The children were also alike. Tough looks, brawn bodies, and, of course, the sense of no good.

The Eros cabin had another kind of similarity. It was just like the Aphrodite cabin. Genial and happy. The legend of Cupid came from him. Eros was the son of Aphrodite, and their children had many common characteristics. The Eros children were mostly guys, with blonde hair and blue eyes, just like the Aphrodite demigods.

And, well, you know the Hebe children. Their cabin was also made of bronze. But this bronze had a golden shine. The roof was made of shingles, layer by layer. The windows were big rectangular ones on each side.

And, last but not least, the Iris cabin. It looked like a large post office over run by kids. The door was off centered to the right, and big windows encircled the cabin. Doors were opening and closing, and people walking in and out. It looked like a copy machine with a short circuit. Papers where floating through the air and people were grabbing at them.

I went over to the Athena cabin and I knocked on the door. A pretty girl opened up the door. I asked if Annabeth was there. She giggled and went to go get Annabeth. I looked inside. The whole place was filled with books and plans, and all of the Athena members were silent looking at me. Finally, Annabeth walked up in arms with the girl. Some of the Athena children tried to hold back laughs. We went out for a walk on the beach.

"So Annabeth, what's up?"

"Nothing much. I'm still studying Daedalus's inventions. They're so fascinating."

"That must be a lot of files. It's been two years since he gave the laptop to you."

"Yeah I know. He has a lot of cool stuff."

"Have you started on rebuilding Olympus?"

"Well, during the summer I've worked with the Hephaestus cabin to make the foundation of some buildings. It's pretty challenging. But I'm up for it."

"Are you still working on it?"

"I will. I'm leaving tomorrow to return to Olympus. You wanna come with?"

"Sure. I mean, we're not going to die or anything."

I rolled onto my bed and stared at the bunk above me. So many unexplained things and no answers. I hate waiting. I reached over and I turned out the lights. Then, I had one of my worst nightmares.

I dreamt of Nico de Angelo. He was talking to a man in a long black robe. His face was white. But that wasn't right. You could never get that pale. Unless... I finally saw his face. It wasn't a man at all. It was the face, of a skeleton.

I realized that that skeleton wasn't just a ghost, but Thanatos, Death himself. Or is it itself?

_Thanatos, show me a way to control my power over the dead._ Nico said.

_I am sorry, my lord. Even I cannot explain the true secrets to control the dead. Forgive me._

_Don't worry Thanatos, I'll talk to my father._

_Lord Hades is very busy right now. I suggest you do not disturb his concentration._

_I'm his son! Of course he will let me talk to him._

_I fear he may do otherwise._

Then the scene changed. I was now looking at a teenage boy. He was about 18 and he had long straight brown hair. His eyes were hazel and he wore some casual clothes. He was looking at a sunset from inside a lighthouse, and I guessed he was in Maine.

_If only I could see my friends again_,he whispered.

He looked up into the sky and mumbled, _Please dad, forgive me._

Then he walked off and picked up some bags.

The scene changed again. I was now in a forest. But it had trails and benches, so it was probably a national park. But this one was strangely familiar. Suddenly, a girl with caramel hair and bright brown eyes came out from the trees. Her hair was in a mess, and her clothes were in tatters. She wore a Saint Mount Helens shirt that was way too big for her and a pair of jeans.

She looked like she was looking for something urgently. She ran past me and that's when I saw a sign. It said _Connetquot River State Park_. That was just south of the Empire State Building.

She ran out on the street. Then headlights shined on her and the sound of screeching tires pierced the night. The girl ran over to the driver side and seemed to be talking to the driver. Her face lit up and she went over to the passenger seat and opened the door and got in. Then they took off.

She seemed familiar. I've seen her before…Oh my gods. It was Calypso, the daughter of the Titan, Atlas, and who _was_ imprisoned on the island of Ogygia. What was she doing in Long Island? Was she in danger? Was she looking for someone? Me? Again, so many questions, no answers.

I woke with a start. My bed was damp of sweat. I hurriedly got dressed and went to brush my teeth. I got some scrambled eggs and bacon at the mess hall and then went back to the cabin to fix up the place. Afterwards I met up with Annabeth to inspect the cabins. We went around the cabins area, ranking each one by its tidiness and neatness of a scale of 1 through 5 stars.

We began at the Zeus cabin. Even though there was no one there, we still walked by to stare at its magnificence. The golden lightning bolts shimmered in the morning daylight. The large body of the building and thick columns didn't make it seem like a _cabin_. The glossy white marble and bronze doors really made it stand out from the rest.

Then right next to it was Hera's cabin. This one was more elegant and graceful than Zeus's. It had slim columns and on the walls, carefully carved engravings of peacocks. Flowers and fruits bloomed around the cabin, giving off a sweet aroma.

We ranked each cabin and then we came upon the new cabins. There was a lot of activity going on around the cabin area.

The Iris cabin was bustling and hustling. Guys and girls with blue uniforms and hats imprinted with a picture of an envelope were rushing in and out of the cabin. Through the blinds, you could tell that guys and girls were busy sorting, packing, and organizing packages and letters from loving mothers or best friends.

The Eros and Enyo cabin were in a middle of a fight. There were calling each other name like, "tuna breath" or "pretty boy."

I felt pretty sad for this one kid who was blind. I could tell because he wore a bandage around his head, covering his eyes.

"Hey, I'm gonna go check it out." I notified Annabeth.

"Ok alright. I'll go ahead and inspect the other cabins."

I nodded. I headed over to the argument and aimed to break it up.

"Hey guys, what's going on here?" I asked an Eros member.

"They're poking fun at us calling us gay losers," he answered.

I looked over at the Enyo group and made eye contact with a brawn tough guy. He was wearing a white muscle shirt and camo pants. Around his neck, he wore dog tags. I could tell that he was in a military family and really liked violence.

He walked up and said, "Hey, you call us stinking pigs!"

An Eros member pushed through me and shoved the brawn guy down to the ground, yelling, "We do not!" He wore a bandage around his head, and I guessed he was blind. He also had a deep British accent.

"Shut up Jared! You blind faggot!" He pushed him down into the dust and he slammed against the Eros cabin door.

Jared got up, but couldn't do anything else. Or at least I didn't think so.

"Justin, you're such a big jerk!" Jared yelled.

I wanted to end this fast, so I took out Riptide and I uncapped it. It grew into my favorite three-foot long weapon. I stepped up to Justin and raised my sword, threatening him. He stood a foot higher than me, which kinda brought me down. If he stood up to anyone like that, I bet they'd run into a closet and hide.

"You better stay away, or else I'm gonna have to hurt you." I said boldly.

Justin scoffed at me and said, "You? Hurt me? Who do you think you are, punk?"

"Do you know who I _am_? I'm Percy Jackson." I hoped that would frighten him a little, but instead, he just laughed aloud.

"Ha! Percy Jackson, kid who saved the world. I'm not afraid of _you_."

"You better take that back, or else."

"Or else what? Are you gonna go crying to your girlfriend?" he said in a teasing tone.

Now he was really starting to piss me off. I cut his arm and punched him in the gut.

He doubled over and glared at me with a hideous look on his face.

"Why you little…" He raised his arm, ready to punch me.

I swiped his leg and he fell on his rear. Then he pointed at me and said, "I'll see you later Jackson! By Zeus I'll pulverize you! Wait until you get my sword!"

"Yeah, sure thing," I muttered under my breath. I turned around to meet several happy faces.

"That was brave of you Percy Jackson," he thanked.

"Percy's just fine. And no problem, it's no big deal."

"Yeah, Justin King can be a real bully."

"I see. So what's your name, Jared right?"

"Yes, Jared Johnson." He looked to be the same age as me. He had wavy blonde hair and a light tan.

That's when I could tell this would be a lifelong friendship. I remembered what Justin said. _Wait until I get my sword!_ I really didn't worry about it…Oh well.

I found Annabeth sitting on a bench just outside the Big House, reading a book.

"Hey, Annabeth, did you finish the inspection?" I asked.

"Yep, sure did. I'm just finishing up the Iliad."

"You mean the poem?"

"Well, duh, Seaweed Brain."

"Will you _please_ stop calling me that?"

"Sure, Seaweed Brain."

"Stop!"

I left Annabeth to her book and ran into a bunch of old friends. Michael and Connor were among them.

"So, Connor any pranks lately?" I asked.

"Yeah, and much more on the way," he said. "Travis and I came up with an entire list, it's gonna be phenomenal."

"Can't wait, just as long their not on me." Connor looked around innocently.

Michael kept talking to me about Mike.

"Mike, and I, we're almost like brothers. We like the fact that both of our names are almost the same. He's extremely talented at the bow and arrow. With no experience before, he's _great _for a beginner."

"That's impressive," I said. "I'm gonna go find Mary and him."

I went looking around for Mike or Mary. I first found Mary sitting by the lake. She had a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and jeans on and was sitting with her legs crossed.

"Hey Mary, what's up?" I said.

"Nothing much…just watching the sun set. Isn't it beautiful?"

I looked up at the horizon. The sun was now a deep orange and was slowly dropping from view. The sky was pink with a few wiry clouds.

"Sure is," I agreed.

I sat down next to her and tried to start a conversation. I really _do not_ like silent awkward moments.

Then, Mary scooted a bit closer to me and laid her head on my shoulder. I was about to get up and leave because I felt weird, but at the worst time possible Annabeth called out my name.

"Hey Percy whatcha…" She stopped abruptly when she saw Mary and me.

I started to get up and tried to explain.

"Annabeth, it's not what it looks like." Her eyes began sparkle and got misty. She broke out in tears and ran away.

"Wait, Annabeth!" I yelled.

"Percy, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…" Mary began to apologize.

"Hold on." I interrupted. I ran after Annabeth as fast as I could. I my way through trees and bushes and appeared from the woods. I caught a glimpse of the Athena cabin's door slam shut.

I jogged to the entrance and slowly opened it up. There I saw Annabeth wailing into a pillow on her bed. She laid there with her shoulders shaking with emotion. I began to feel _extremely_ sorry for her. I am gonna have a hard time explaining this to her.

"Annabeth?" I called.

"Get away!" she screamed. She looked at me with red eyes, tears trailed on her face, and her hair was messy.

"Annabeth, I can explain…"

"There's nothing to explain! It's clear. You don't love me! Just that stupid Mary!"

"Of course I love you! Annabeth, she made the move, not _me_."

"Yeah, sure, _right_. You're just saying that!"

"No, it's the truth!"

"I don't trust you anymore! I hate you! We are _done_." she screamed.

At that moment, my heart split in two. I almost cried, but that would have been embarrassing. I hadn't noticed it before, but we had created a scene. A whole crowd was standing just outside the cabin, and at the front, was Mary.

I stared at everybody, and everyone stared back. I felt hopeless, powerless. It was horrible. I couldn't bear it anymore. I walked forward and the crowd parted. About a million eyes followed me as I made my way back to my cabin.


	6. Nico Returns

*6*

Nico Returns

That night I had another bad nightmare. I was viewing what seemed to be an apartment building. My dream myself walked into the building and up the stairs. I didn't know where I was going, but I was just lead to wherever I was going. I walked down a hallway and stopped at a door to my left. I opened it and went inside.

The room was messy. _Very_ messy. Crumpled paper and crushed soda cans littered the floor. A familiar guy was sleeping on a recliner. That's when I realized it was the guy I had seen in an earlier dream…Remember, the guy in Maine? Right, now moving on.

A blanket covered his body, but it was too small, so most of his legs were showing. Then, a shine caught my eye. It was a picture frame.

My heart skipped a few beats. In the picture were Luke and Annabeth, at a young age. It must have been taken a couple of years ago, because Annabeth looked like she was only 7.

Who was this guy? He couldn't have been Luke, because Luke had blonde hair, not brown. But wait. I checked the guy's face, and holy Zeus it was him. There on his left eye, was a white scar. The same scar Luke had.

I had to find out where he was, but before I could investigate further, I found myself in a different place. I was now at, well, Camp Half-Blood. It was dark, and it was hard to make out my surroundings. I was looking out at the city from Thalia's Pine Tree. Peleus was still fast asleep and the Golden Fleece produced a light yellow glow.

Then, my eyes caught some movement far away. The person came closer and closer, and over time, I managed to see Calypso, running towards the camp.

Her hair was messy and her clothes torn in a couple places. She seemed desperate to find a home, and she looked like she hadn't eaten in days. Maybe she didn't know the outside world, being locked up on Ogygia all her life.

She climbed up the hill and looked over the Camp. There was a pause, and then she sighed, and continued towards the Big House.

That's when I woke abruptly to a loud banging. I woke up alert, frantically fumbling the blankets. I quietly ran to the door and turned the knob. There was Calypso, tired and dirty. Dark circles rounded her eyes and her body was thin.

"Greetings, Perseus. Are you awake?"

I rubbed my eyes and yawned while saying, "Yeah, I am now."

"Sorry to wake you from your slumber. Can I stay?"

My eyes widened and I thought of an excuse. I didn't want to sleep with a girl. Hey, I haven't reached that age yet!

"You could go to the Big House and ask Chiron to stay there," I suggested.

She seemed to become disappointed, but didn't really seem to care.

"Absolutely," she said.

We waved goodbye and I closed the door. I was glad to go back to sleep. I fell onto my bed and hugged the pillow.

_Buzz buzz! Buzz buzz!_ I slammed my hand on the alarm clock and the buzzing ceased. I laid there for a while and then gave my arms a stretch. I lazily got up and smacked my lips. _Another regular morning_ I thought to myself. I would prove myself wrong.

After grabbing some breakfast, I ran into Calypso, who was busy admiring the carnations on the Demeter cabin.

"Good morning, Perseus." She said while still looking at the flowers.

"Hey, Calypso. Did you get to talk to Chiron?"

"Yes. He said it was just fine, and that I should be treated as a guest at the Big House."

I nodded."Very generous of him," I agreed.

Once again, we departed and I started walking around, watching all the daily activities. Hephaestus members were clanging hot metal, forming swords and shields. There was a new section I haven't seen before. It was a large building, half of it seemed to be offices and the other half was a cross between a chemistry lab and a workshop.

There was a big, forest green door with a bronze plaque with Designing Department imprinted on it. Curious, I opened the door, and I was utterly speechless. I stood there looking in awe at all the awesome equipment and items. People were typing and designing 3D models on computers of future, never before seen weapons, shields, and all kinds of things.

On the other side, I guessed that's where people actually form their designs. Boys and girls molded clays, mixed substances, and drew blueprints. Hephaestus members came by to pick up plans on weapons and all sorts of stuff. I was thoroughly convinced this was also one of Annabeth's making.

That made me really sad. If only Annabeth was here to guide me. I didn't seem complete without her. But I tried not to think about it.

I looked around and spotted a nearby pile of papers.

I turned to a young boy who was helping an older girl, and asked him if he could hand her some sheets. The kid happily handed it over, and quickly went back to work.

On the blue paper, I could see there was a pile of what seemed to be sand and a whole bunch of chemical equations and elements I've never heard of. At the top, it was labeled "Olympian dust." Then I looked for notes and read, "Makes enemies drowsy and then pass out."

I chuckled. We better keep this away from the Stoll brothers. No telling what havoc they can cause. They were one heck of a pair. They did everything together. Steal, prank, fight. It just didn't seem normal if they weren't together.

I left the building and went to go do some other fun thing. I decided to head over to the stables and check on Blackjack. While on my way, I ran into a pretty girl around the age of 15. Her brown bangs fell on impact, and we were dazed for a few seconds, blurting apologies.

"Whoops, sorry," she said.

"No, I'm sorry."

She looked up with her glistening brown eyes, and her eyes enlightened and she said, "Whoa, you're Percy Jackson! I've heard stories about you."

"Oh really?" I asked. "Like what?"

"Well, you returned Zeus's bolt, you defeated Polymepheus, took Atlas's burden, traveled through the Labyrinth and _survived_, and saved Olympus."

"Wow," I remarked. "So you must be a fan or something?"

She looked up into the sky and thought about it.

"Um, no, not really. Though you are very well known," Then her voice lowered to a whisper. "You have a fan club you know."

"WHAT!" I screamed. Then everything went silent and it seemed I had a million eyes watching me. I looked around in embarrassment. Then I turned to the girl.

"Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" She looked at me with a suspicious look.

"I guess not. What's your name?"

"Emily Mace. The other Hebe girls are crazy about you. I'd watch where you're going if I were you."

"Thanks for the advice, Emily."

"No problem," she said. Emily turned around and then said, "Good luck," and ran off.

I watched her dash off and I turned to the stables. But waiting for me, was a mob of girls.

"Oh crap," I muttered. I turned and ran for my life. Behind me I heard someone yell, "OMG there he is!"

I ran like never before and I suddenly got a boost of energy. It must be the motivation. I didn't think of where I was going, just as long I got away. I thought running into the woods would help, but that just confused me. I stopped and took in my surroundings.

Where are they? Where am I? Then I heard a lot of loud footstep coming in my direction. I made a swift dash to the creek, and dove in. I created an air bubble underwater, and waited for my fans to pass.

The loud stomping stopped and I heard voices at the edge of the creek. I could see their shadows above the surface. I waited there for another 5 minutes. After a while, they seemed to give up, and left. Cautiously, I crept out of the water and checked to see if the coast was clear.

I kept myself dry and carefully snuck back to the cabin. Luckily, I didn't run into any crazy girls and I got safely back to the comfort of my cabin.

I quietly shut the door and took a deep breath. Who knew how hard it was to runway from a bunch of ravaging girls, who just want to get a fingernail clipping, or your pocket lint, or a strand of hair.

Then I heard a _whoosh_ from behind me, and I turned. Standing there in a mist of dark shadows was Nico. He was older than the last time I saw him. By now he must have been 13 years old. His messy hair had grown over his ears, and he was paler than ever. Instead of wearing his usual aviator's jacket, he wore a black American Eagle hoodie and a saggy pair of black jeans, held up with a black belt and skull buckle. His skull ring glowed, even in the dark room.

"Long time, no see," Nico said.

"How've you been doing Nico?" I asked him.

"Pretty good," he answered. "How about you?"

I thought about it and frowned. Nico must have seen my expression because he looked a little worried.

"If you consider fans chasing you and breaking up with the girl of your dreams all good fun, than yeah." I answered.

"Hey man, I'm really sorry…"

"Oh no it's alright," I interrupted. Actually, it wasn't all right. I felt really down.

"So what are you doing here anyway?" I questioned.

Nico smiled. "I've decided to stay."

Now it was my turn to smile. "Dude, are you serious? That's great!"

"Yep, I'm movin' in. I've got my bags in front of the Hades cabin."

"Nice," I said. "You should go talk to Chiron about your arrival."

"Sure thing," he agreed. "Well, I better go."

"Yeah, yeah, go on." I said.

I opened the door for him, and he nodded in thanks. I watched him walk to the Big House, but then he stopped by the Hades cabin. He reached in his pocket and took out a small toy. He walked up the black marble steps and placed a Mythomagic Hades figurine on the window sill.


	7. Harpies Steal Our Underwear

*7*

Harpies Steal Our Underwear

It was good to have Nico back. It almost felt like everyone was safely home. But for a half-blood, nothing felt safe.

I jumped into bed and laid on my back, looking at the bunk bed above me. There were so many things happening all at once, and some of them bad ones. I hoped Nico got along with his half-brother too. I laughed to myself.

_Another newbie_, I thought. I turned on my side and closed my eyes. Hopefully, tomorrow would go fine.

The next morning, I woke up to the beeping of the alarm clock. I buried my head into the pillow and groaned. Oh well, it's not like the world is coming to an end.

I reached my hand and fumbled around the nightstand. I found the alarm clock and slammed the button. I warily sat up and rubbed my eyes. I tried to feel energized and pulled on some clothes.

I walked outside and saw Annabeth sitting on the porch of her cabin alone. I looked around and saw no one around. I guess everyone was either still asleep or out doing something.

I walked over to Annabeth.

"Hey, Annabeth," I said softly.

"What do you want?" she replied back.

"I want to apologize. For yesterday."

She started to stand up but I held her there. "Wait! I need to talk to you! Annabeth, look I never wanted to kiss Mary! I swear!"

"But you let her do it! She might've made the move but you let her do it!"

"Annabeth, I'm sorry! That was the worst mistake I've ever made, and I will never do it again!"

"How will I know?"

"Because of this." I leaned forward for a kiss. It lasted for what seemed like eternity. I held her in my arms and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I pulled her in closer, and kissed more.

My hand stroked her cheek softly, and she leaned in even more. She stopped, and looked into my eyes.

"I love you Annabeth," I whisper.

"Oh, I love you too Seaweed Brain," she said as she hugged me tight. I smiled.

"Looks like we're back together again huh?"

She giggled. "Definitely!"

We walked together to the training area holding hands. Lots of people like to hang out here, usually to show off their skills or just to talk.

I saw Mike and Mary talking to each other, and I walked over to them to see what was up.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I said.

"Oh, we were just talking about what weapons we should have," said Mary. She wore a white Camp Half-Blood T-shirt that had hearts and doves drawn around the lettering.

"I'm definitely getting a bow, a compound bow to be exact. Those things are _sick_!" Mike exclaimed. Mike was wearing a neat "I Love Archery" shirt.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm sticking with Riptide. Have I shown it to you yet?" Both of them shook their heads. I pulled Riptide out of my pocket and uncapped it. Mike and Mary gasped in delight as the sword grew into its actual size.

"Pretty sweet huh?" I said.

"That's awesome!" Mary said as she hopped up and down. Yeah, she's known for her hyperactive personality.

"Aw, dude that's cool!" Mike complimented. I recapped Riptide and put it back in my pocket.

"That's great Percy," said Mary. "I was thinking the same thing, having a sword."

I nodded. "That's sensible."

"Hey if you think _that's_ great, check this out," Annabeth said. She threw up one of her knifes and caught it at the tip of the blade and threw it at a nearby straw dummy used for sword practice. She landed the

"_That's_ a weapon," she stated.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," I scoffed. Annabeth smiled and she looked at Mike and Mary. Her smile faded and Mary burst into apologies.

"Annabeth, I'm _very_ sorry for…" but Annabeth interrupted.

"It's okay," she said. "Seaweed Brain and I are back together." She leaned towards me and kissed my cheek. I grinned.

"Awh! You guys are so cute!" Mary said.

Mike began snickering, but couldn't contain it, and burst out laughing.

"Seaweed Brain? What's up with that?" he laughed.

"Well, he's the son of Poseidon," said Annabeth.

"Sweet," he said. "Ha, Seaweed Brain," Mike repeated.

At that moment, the conch horn blew in the distance signaling breakfast time.

"Hey guys, you wanna grab something to eat at the mess hall?" I offered. Everyone gave "Yeah"s and "Sure"s. We headed over to the mess hall and we enjoyed a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast. Yum.

After we had our fill, we went our own ways. Mike ran to the archery range to test out different kinds of arrows. Mary went looking for the other Aphrodite girls, and Annabeth went to her cabin to go over construction plans for Olympus.

I went to go take a stroll on the beach. As I walked, I kicked some of the sand and seashells. Put one of them caught my eye. It was a large white scallop shell. It looked like it had been blasted with a pressure washer.

I picked it up and investigated it. I turned it over and carved on the inside was a message. _In Greek_. Easily, I read it.

_Throw me back to the ocean_

I became puzzled. Why should I throw it? Well, if was in Greek, it might have been for something important. I threw it as hard as I could into the sea. Nothing happened.

"Wow, that was pointless," I said out loud.

Suddenly, there was loud rumbling coming from the depths of the water. There was enormous explosion of water, and then it settled. When everything became clear again, I saw a familiar face.

"Hey Dad!" I greeted. Standing there was Poseidon, dressed in his usual attire, a button down shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals.

"Good morning Percy," Poseidon said. "How have you been doing?"

"Great! What's with the shell?" I asked.

"I wanted to speak to you," he said sternly. I always had a foreboding feeling when gods became dead serious.

"Percy, I just wanted to tell you to be careful."

"Why? Nothing has happened yet." I said.

"Well, we gods know things. I have a feeling that something misfortunate is imminent," he said.

"Dad, you don't have to always keep worrying about me. I'm…" All of a sudden, there was a large crash back in the commons area. Poseidon and I turned and surveyed the cabins for any trouble.

I heard screams and strange screeching noises. Immediately, I had the instinct to make sure my friends where safe. I dashed to the cabin area and it was complete chaos.

The harpies who usually clean our cabins where literally cleaning them out. They had the upper half of a woman, but from the waist down they were vicious birds. Harpies swooped into cabins beating their wings on any unlucky person and just totally trash the place. I even saw one chewing someone's "I Love NY" briefs.

I reached for Riptide in my pocket and pressed my watch. It transformed into a bronze shield and I ran toward a nearby harpy. I saw one clutching Clarisse in her talons. I almost, _almost_, laughed. Clarisse was madly swinging her hammer around, but couldn't get a clear shot. I sprinted up to the harpy and I jumped and swung at it. I managed to cut some feathers off and made it really mad.

"You cut my feather! I just trimmed them yesterday!" it screeched. It sounded like those girls who care so much about their nails. It dropped Clarisse with a thud and went after me. It tried to grasp me with its large claws but I ducked and she missed.

There was no way I could fight a harpy unless I could fly. And that gave me an idea, though my chances of living may not be so high. But hey, it's always like that.

I ran towards the stables. Yeah, you're probably thinking what I'm thinking. On the way there, I ran into Annabeth.

"Where are you going, there are people to save, monsters to fight?" she said.

"I have an idea," I said. I quickly explained to her what I had in mind.

"You're crazy," she said, "But it might just work."

Together, we dashed to the stables. Annabeth chose her own pegasus, colored a classic white. I opened Blackjack's stable and saddled him.

_Where are we going boss?_ Blackjack asked.

"We've got to fight a few harpies," I replied.

_Harpies? Where?_ He said nervously.

"Oh, don't tell me you're scared," I jarred.

_What? Me, scared? Nah, that's not me_, he insisted.

"Ok then, let's go!" I yelled. I pulled out Riptide and jumped on Blackjack.

We flew back to the cabins. Now, there were broken windows, and glass shards and wooden splinters littered the ground. Scratches and claw marks covered the gold and silver cabins. As I peered down, I saw Mike and Mary working together, fending off any harpies. The campers seemed to have gained control of themselves now.

Blackjack and I swooped down and I lashed my sword at a harpy with a kid in its claws. I hit my mark, and the harpy disappeared in a golden mist. Thank the gods I had practice.

I turned around and saw Annabeth approach a harpy. She began standing on the saddle and then jumped onto the harpy. The harpy tried hard to shake her off, but Annabeth had already stabbed her in the back. The harpy's horrified face was stuck in my head when it vaporized into the air. Annabeth fell through the golden mist and, as if they practiced this before, her pegasus caught Annabeth on its back.

I flew beside Annabeth and said," Where are all these monster attacks coming from?" I questioned.

"I don't know," she replied.

I shrugged and went off to take care of the rest of the harpies. Blackjack and I attempted to hit another harpy, but at the last second, it beat its wings and flew higher. Every time, it would fly out of reach, which really frustrated me.

The harpy swooped down on me and I deflected its claws with my shield.

Those harpies are difficult to fight. They were too fast. They were smart too. They knew we would pursue them if they tried to flee, so they flew in circles in opposite directions of each other. We even almost ran into each other.

Some of the other campers saw what we were doing and followed us, getting their own pegasi and flying up to assist us. Mike and Mary, well, they were going to have to wait. I saw Clarisse try to fly with her heavy hammer, but it weighed her pegasus down. The Apollo cabin had a difficult time flying, holding on, and aiming with their bows, all at the same time. The others didn't have such a hard time.

That gave me an idea. I landed Blackjack near Mike and Mary, and they run to me to see what is going on.

"I can't get a clear shot!"Mike yelled. "The camp's bows and arrows aren't that good, plus the harpies are just too fast."

"I have nothing to do," Mary said. She raised a beat up shield to show me she wasn't satisfied with her boring job.

"I've got a plan," I said." Mike, get on. I want you to shoot as many harpies as you can." I looked at Mary. Her face looked like one of an excited child, and I really didn't want to let her down.

"Mary, go grab a bow and arrows and go team up with Annabeth." She sprinted to the armory.

At that moment, Annabeth and her pegasus touched down behind Mary. Mary just came back and ran to Annabeth. She jumped onto her pegasus, and looked really excited. Annabeth looked at me confused, but then understood what the plan was. She flew up to rejoin the battle, and I followed her.

I steered Blackjack to a harpy who was clawing at two campers. The harpy managed to clip the wing of a pegasus and it fell to the ground.

"Hold steady," Mike commanded. He notched and arrow and expertly nailed the harpy in the neck. It plummeted toward the ground, and in mid-air, vaporized. The other camper landed on the ground to check on his fallen comrade.

I found Jake on his pegasus, floating there, looking for any other harpy.

"Jake! I've got a plan!" I called. He flew over to me and listened carefully.

"Get the other campers to get an Apollo member and to fly by a harpy. The archers will take care of the harpies. Fighting with swords in too dangerous."

"Since when was it _dangerous_?" he joked.

"Just go tell them what I said," He nodded and flew off. In no time, I saw two campers on a pegasus, and my plan worked perfectly. The archers had no problem taking the harpies out. The rest of the Apollo members kept shooting arrows, and barely had to aim at all.

Mike caught one in his sights and he notched an arrow and hit right on target. When all of the harpies were taken care of, we settled back down on the ground. Chiron was waiting for us in his centaur form as we landed our pegasi.

I jumped off Blackjack and walked to Chiron. "Why are we being attacked by these monsters? First the Python, now this? There's no way they can get in unless a camper summons a monster, much less a god," I said.

"I am aware that you are irritated, and believe me I am more than _irritated. _I don't know why, but something is amiss and I would like to find out what." He observed all of the tired beat up campers. Several were limping and injured.

"I suppose," Chiron continued," I will have to hire more harpies to do our housecleaning." And with that he trotted back to the Big House.

"Hey, I found my briefs!" yelled a random camper. "Ugh, it's got harpy slime!" Disgusting. A couple other campers laughed, which brightened the mood, somewhat.

The sun was about to set and we were all tired and hungry. Several of us went to take a long, refreshing shower, while I walked to the beach to watch the beautiful sunset. It was a deep orange, and the sky was turning purple. Annabeth walked up beside me and sighed.

"Would you ever regret being a half-blood?" she questioned.

"I've thought about it," I said," but I'm never in my life going to give it back." I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and we watched the sun disappear into the horizon.


	8. I Discover A New Power

*8*

I Discover a New Power

In the distance, the conch horn sounded for supper. My stomach growled. I didn't realize how hungry I was. Annabeth and I walked to the mess hall and took our seats.

The pavilion must have quadrupled in size. Here were at least two thousand more campers. Chiron stepped forward and stamped his hoof.

"Attention, Camp Half-Blood campers! Today was a rather unfortunate day. You have all fought hard, and I would like to commend you for that. Thanks to Percy's plan," he paused and looked in my direction," we have defeated the harpies." I received a few compliments and pats on the back.

"The answer to why the harpies suddenly attacked us is still unknown. But aside from that, let us enjoy a well-deserved meal!" Food instantly appeared on our plates, and any beverage we wanted filled our goblets. But before we could eat, each cabin had to line up and give a portion of their meal into the fire, as a sacrifice to the gods. I followed the other cabins and scraped some of my food into the blazing fire, which burnt black smoke.

When we returned to our tables, everyone dug in. We had delicious barbeque chicken and I asked for a Dr. Pepper. A _blue _Dr. Pepper.

Once we were satisfied, we returned to our cabins for another before bed. I decided to check on my mom, and so I went over to my water fountain. There was a lamp mounted on it to where it imitated the sunlight so I could use it at night, another neat attachment my dad thought up of.

"O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering," I said as I tossed in a golden drachma. It disappeared in the rainbow, and I asked, "Show me Sally Jackson." An image began to get into focus and I could make out the figures of my mom and Paul. They were sitting at the kitchen table eating a nice home cooked meal.

"Mom!" I called. She looked up and got out of her chair. She rushed towards me and said, "Percy, are you alright?"

"What's happened?" Paul asked.

"Mom, I'm fine. I just wanted to check if you and Paul were okay," I said.

"Yes, we're alright. Has anything happened lately? How's Annabeth?"

"Mom."

"Sorry," she apologized.

"We've encountered a few attacks," I admitted.

My mom turned serious. At least she didn't freak out. "Monsters?"

"Yeah, the Python and the harpies turned on us. I have no clue why, but I'm willing to find out."

My mom smiled. "Always saving the world," she said to herself. "Well, be careful," she said.

"Okay mom, I will." I looked at Paul, who was watching our conversation. "See ya later Paul."

"Sure thing pal," he said. I waved my hand over the picture and the image disappeared.

I trudged over to my bed and flopped on. My eyelids slowly closed shut, and drifted off into sleep.

Now _this _was unusual. For some reason, I wasn't having nightmares tonight. Instead it came as a _dream_. Man, I don't think I have ever been through one of these.

I found myself in Olympus, standing in front of a large temple. It was large and dazzling white. Its whole body was made of marble, and the columns were made of whitewashed stone. I climbed up the steps and proceeded to a 12 foot door. It had all kinds of interesting engravings, yet they all symbolized one person. One of the engravings was two hands, and they seemed to be trading a lyre and cattle. Another was a caduceus, a winged staff entwined with two snakes.

This was obviously a temple of Hermes. I walked forward and pushed the doors open. Inside, there were pedestals of artifacts .com/watch?v=MJlo0hWnZWct displayed all kinds of things. Placed in the center of the temple was a long blue carpet with gold trim. Several pews were orderly placed by the sides of the building for prayer services and other religious rituals. I nervously walked down the aisle, and sitting there in a large throne, was Hermes himself.

He was dressed in his usual running shorts and T-shirt. As always, he had his winged sandals and caduceus. In his arms was a winged helmet. George and Martha, the snakes wrapped around the caduceus, were slithering around and chatting with one another.

"Hello, Percy," he greeted.

"Hello, Lord Hermes," I replied.

_Hello, Perseus_, whispered George.

_Greetings, Perseus_, said Martha.

"Hi, guys," I replied.

_Did you bring a rat for me?_ George hissed.

"George, I told you to stop constantly asking people that," said Hermes. "Okay, so, back to my message. You _must_ find the Oracle of Delphi. You have an important duty, and the only way to discover what it is, is to find her."

"But you're a god," I complained, "can't you ask Apollo or something?"

"Big brother told me that you _had _to find the Oracle," he shrugged.

I thought about it hard. "Okay then, I'll find her."

Hermes nodded. "Good luck Percy Jackson," he said," you'll need it." He seemed worried.

The dream ended and I came back to reality. I woke up at the crack of dawn and listened to the birds chirping in the distance.

This was it. Finally a quest I could go on. It's been a while, and I've become a little rusty. I thought that talking to Chiron would help, so I grabbed a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and blue jeans. I checked my pockets for Riptide, just in case.

I stood in front of the newly painted, blue door of the Big House. I knocked on the door, waiting for an answer. Chiron opened the door, and ducked to see who it was.

"Good morning Percy," he said," up early I see."

"Chiron, I need to talk to you," I said.

His face became stern and he nodded in acknowledgement. "Come in, take a seat," he said.

I took a seat on an old couch that still had springs. The cushions weren't very cushioning and the arms were old of age. Chiron stood next to me, watching me.

"So what has come up?" he asked.

"I have had a dream," I answered.

He looked shocked. "A dream?" he asked. "Why that's unusual for a half-blood."

"Yeah, I know, I know. Hermes told me I had to find the Oracle of Delphi. I _have_ to." Chiron raised his eyebrows at this.

"You must obey a god," he sighed. "Did he give a reason?"

"No, not at all." I replied

Chiron paced back and forth, processing each line. He came to a stop and seemed to come to a decision.

"Then it is settled. You must go on a quest within a quest. Find the Oracle, and discover the prophecy." he stated. "Will you need help?"

"I have a few people in mind," I answered.

"Alright then, but just make sure you contact me when you have heard the prophecy." He said sternly. I nodded in agreement.

By now it was around 7:30 am, and I went to the Athena cabin. People were sleepily starting to walk out of their cabins, and hitting the showers.

I walked up the creaky steps of the Athena cabin and I knocked on the door. At first there was no answer. I knocked again. I waited, and then someone opened the door.

I became very nervous. It was Annabeth. She was wearing a brown jacket over her camp T-shirt and jeans.

"Hi Annabeth," I said.

She looked at the floor. "Hi Percy," she mumbled.

"Annabeth?"

She looked up. "Yeah?"

"I need you on a quest." I requested. She bit her lip, and seemed to try to resist the temptation.

"Annabeth, I need you," I said. I held her hand as I talked. "We've been on every quest together. We're a _team_. Please, forgive me." I asked solemnly.

Her eyes looked around. Then our eyes made contact, and she hugged me tightly. I returned the embrace.

"I missed you," I said.

"I missed you too," she replied.

We stood back, and I said, "So, ready to go on a quest?"

"What do we have to do?" she questioned me.

"Hermes has ordered me to go find the Oracle of Delphi."

She became shocked. "Hermes contacted you?" she exclaimed.

"Through a dream," I said. She stood back with surprise. Then she became disappointed.

"Do we have to go see Rachel?" she asked? She sounded like a little child, which was weird for a 17 year old.

I looked at her funny. "You mean you guys haven't gotten along yet?"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, never mind Seaweed Brain."

I smiled. "So are we together again?"

"What makes you think we aren't?"

"Nothing. Now let's go find Nico."

We stood in front of the Hades cabin. The shining back marble was glossy and clean. We stepped up and knocked on the silver door. Hunter Bach opened the door. He was wearing a black T-shirt with a skull on it, and a pair of black pants. His hair was spiky as usual, which reminded me of Thalia.

"Hey Hunter," I said.

"Sup. Looking for someone?" he asked.

"Yeah, is Nico here?"

"Oh, little half bro? He's in the forest looking to fight some more monsters. "

"Alright, thanks man." I said.

"Okay, no problemo."

Annabeth and I traveled through the forest searching for Nico. We called out his name repeatedly.

"Nico!" we shouted.

"What?" We turned and there was Nico. I think he crept on us!

"We need you…" I said. He looked at me in confusion. "…on a quest."

"A quest? Wow, my first quest! What's it gonna be?" he asked excitedly.

"We have to find the Oracle of Delphi," I said.

"Who's he?" Nico asked.

"_Her_," Annabeth corrected.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized.

"Anyway," I added," we've got to find Rachel Dare."

Nico laughed. "That's the Oracle's name? Wow, how lame."

Annabeth and I both glared at him. He raised his hands in surrender.

"C'mon Nico, this is your first quest, you don't want to screw it up, do you?"

"No way man! I'm gonna destroy any monster who gets in our way," said Nico, as he swung at the air with an invisible sword. He looked up, and looked down sheepishly.

"Alright, bring anything important and let's go," I said.

"Wait, we're not bringing anyone else?" Annabeth asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. Besides, too many people will slow us down. We can just go find Rachel and memorize the prophecy. We'll return to camp and then think it out. Simple, right?"

She nodded and turned to me. "I'm impressed," she complimented.

We met at Thalia's pine tree, at the border of the magical boundaries. Peleus was still asleep, wrapped around the trunk of the tree.

"Okay, are we ready?" I asked Annabeth and Nico.

"Ready as you are," said Nico. He wore a belt that held his black Stygian iron sword.

"Sure, thing let's go." Annabeth said excitedly. He had her Yankees cap ready in her hand, and her two bronze knives sheathed on her hips. She carried an army green satchel with an owl holding an olive branch. I've never seen her with it before, but I assumed it was a gift from Athena.

"Okay let's hit the road. Follow me," I said. I reached in my pocket, not for Riptide, but for the rusty key resting at the bottom.

Annabeth and Nico ran to the newly refurbished car. Its glossy paint shined navy blue with white racing stripes. The chrome trim sparkled and the muffler was wiped clean. The shiny rims were washed until no grime was visible, and the whole 1967 Mustang Fastback gleamed with beauty.

"Oh my gods, _that's_ your car?" Annabeth screamed. Her face looked like she was given the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

"Dude, that 'Stang is a _monster_!" Nico exclaimed. I smiled and enjoyed the overwhelming feelings that they expressed. It was kind of hard not to brag, I mean, a '67 Mustang! That's a good car. No, an _amazing _car!

"Yeah, it's mine. My father gave it to me. It's pretty sweet. He put an enchantment on it so it won't scratch or get dirty," I said. "Okay, c'mon get in."

"I call shotgun!" Nico yelled.

"Nico, you're not old enough," I protested. He frowned, but still ran to the door. Annabeth opened it up and lowered the seat for Nico to get in.

She pulled the seat back to its place and got in. I sat down and we closed the door behind us. I turned the ignition and the engine roared to life.

"Seatbelts everyone," I said. Nico groaned.

"But I hate the seatbelt, it gets in my face," he complained. I turned around and looked at him straight in the eye.

"So you'd rather be comfortable than be alive if we crash?" I asked him. He shook his head and looked at the floor.

Annabeth hit me on the arm. "Don't scare him," Annabeth said.

"Hey, I don't wanna be responsible for his injuries." I reached over to the radio and found my favorite station. Right now, they were playing some AC DC, "Thunderstruck".

I revved the engine a few times and we took off. I drove down the street and turned at a corner and in front of us a long highway.

"Open the glove box, there's a map," I told Annabeth. She listened and took out a large world map.

"So where are we going to look first?" asked Nico.

"Rachel attends the Clarion Lady's Academy in New Hampshire. That will take us _at least_ 5 hours, if traffic is good."

Annabeth agreed."Correct. I think it's in Concord, the capital."

The song changed to "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes.

Annabeth said," Oh, I love this song!" She cranked up the radio and we enjoyed the rest of the ride. One of the lyrics, "From the queen of England to the hounds of hell" reminded me of something, or someone. I think Nico thought about it too.

Mrs. O'Leary, the name of my hellhound, must be pretty lonesome. After Beckendorf died, I put Hunter in charge to take care of her since he seemed to be the best person for the job.

We rode for the next 2 to 3 hours. It began to storm, thunder rolled through the air and lightning lit the sky. I took a glance at everyone in the car. Annabeth and Nico were slouched in their seats sleeping. It was dark and my headlights shined brightly. Then, out of nowhere, a large figure stood in my path.

I swerved to the left and we jumped into the trench. Annabeth and Nico woke up suddenly. Thanks to the enchantment my dad put on the car, nothing was broken. I climbed out of my car and reached for Riptide.

I stood there with Riptide in my hand, ready for action. On the highway was a lion the size of a tank. I thought it was the Nemean lion, a monster we had faced before, but this one didn't have the luster of its silver mane. This one was the color of gold and it stood proudly, with its chest out. I could tell that it had amazing strength from its bulky muscles.

A pair of headlights projected on the lion's torso, and a car speeded toward the beast. The lion swapped it away with a swipe of its paw. The mighty monster roared, piercing the night. The vehicle soared over us and landed into the thick trees behind us. Metallic parts and pieces rained on us and the ground. By now, Annabeth had her knives ready and Nico had drawn his Stygian sword.

We immediately stated to form a plan. We circled around the lion, waiting for our next move.

"It's the Thespian lion," Annabeth said to me. Now I remember. Hercules had defeated this lion for one of his tasks. He had choked it with his bare hands, but how am I going to do that?

The Thespian lion made the first move. It targeted Nico and it raised his paw. Nico jumped to the side, just in time to escape the lion's paw. I ran to the lion and jumped on its back. I was about to stab it, but it turned around and threw me off. Annabeth and Nico ran from both sides, and the lion swung at Annabeth, but she got on the ground and dodged it.

Nico put on his jacket hood, and he turned invisible. Now _that's_ cool. I'm gonna have to ask him about that later. Annabeth saw what Nico did, and looked frantically for something. She must be looking for her gray Yankees cap. She took a dash to the car, but the lion scooped her up before she could get near it.

"Annabeth!" I shouted. I turned angry at the monster. A shock went through my body and I had an impulse to stomp my foot on the ground with all my might. It felt like the entire earth shook beneath me and cracks in the road began to form. Nico stumbled and fell over and the lion was shaking violently.

A colossal abyss opened up below the lion. The lion's lower half fell in, and it tried to make an escape. It let go of Annabeth and used both paws to desperately claw the pavement. Annabeth fell on the ground, but couldn't get up because of the shaking. I hit the ground with my other foot, and the lion fell through the deep fault.

Cars were trapped in large cracks in the ground and many more were flipped over. The shockwave had ceased, and everything was still. People started climbing out of their cars and some were looking over the damage.

Sirens sounded in the distance. "C'mon," I said to the others, "let's get moving before anything else bad happens."

We jumped into the car and we peeled out. We were on our way to New Hampshire.


	9. Nico Has A Crush on the Oracle of Delphi

*9*

Nico Gets the Kicks for Rachel

We were approaching the city of Concord, and found a small local inn called Chuck's Inn. We stayed there for the night to think up of a plan.

"So where exactly is Clarion Academy?" I asked Annabeth.

"Check in the nightstand drawer, here should be a phone book," she said, as she tossed her bag on the bed.

I climbed over the bed and pulled the drawer open. Sure enough, there was a Yellow Pages phonebook. Flipping through the pages, I found Clarion Academy for Girls. Reading aloud, I said, "13270 Clarion Avenue, Concord, NH."

Then Nico said, "Then, we'll go find her in the morning."

"Agreed," I said. I found the TV remote and I turned the TV on. A news channel first appeared, and the story wasn't surprising.

"Breaking news, a freak earthquake south of Concord," a woman reported. "Authorities say that the earthquake hit I-93 with a measurement of 9.2 on the Richter scale. The cause is still unknown…" I shut it off and turned to Nico.

"Hey Nico. I saw what you did with your jacket. That was pretty cool. Is it a magical jacket or something?"

Nico looked down at his jacket and said, "Oh yeah! My dad gave it to me. I call it, _The Cloak of Darkness_. Whenever I pull on the hood, I'm nowhere to be seen."

"Cool. Well, I was just wondering. Now let's get some shut eye."

Annabeth and I took separate beds, and Nico called the sofa. I turned off the lights, and we all went to sleep.

Once again, I had another nightmare. I was standing in a pitch black room, and I couldn't see _anything_. I tried talking, but no sounds came out. I heard voices approach me, and I started to panic a little.

Their footsteps echoed, and it got louder and louder every time. Then, the footsteps stopped. I heard a match scratch against something and it sparked to life. A hand was visible, but I couldn't tell whose. The match lit a torch, which flooded the entire room with light.

Well, it wasn't a room. What I was actually standing in, was the entrance to Tartarus. Holding the torch was Hades himself, and next to him, was the hideous Echidna. She was in her, _decent_, form, holding her Chihuahua, Chimera. They walked into Tartarus, and stopped at the edge of the pit.

A shrill voice spoke from the depths

_Do you have the boy?_

_Not yet, honey_ Echidna said soothingly

Then the voice boomed throughout the cave, _I need the boy! He is essential for the mission!_

All the ghosts cowered in fear and covered their ears. Then, they returned to their lines as they waited for their sentence.

_Sweetie, I can go get him right now if you'd like_, Echidna said.

_Very well then. Go at once!_

Echidna smiled a crooked smile and she nodded at Hades. Hades had a stern look on his face, and guided Echidna to the exit. He mumbled some words and a doorway revealed itself. Echidna walked through, and disappeared.

The nightmare changed scenes. I was now standing beside an old red Chevy truck. I was at a gas station, in a small rural area. There was lots of merchandise of New Hampshire hung in the windows. There was a jingle of bells, and someone had opened the door.

It was Luke, holding a grocery bag of snacks and drinks. He got in the truck, and turned on the engine. Thinking quickly, I raced to the rear to read the license plate. It was definitely from Maine.

Luke drove off, and the rumble of his truck faded away. I blacked out, and I appeared in a dark alley. I could see down the street and I saw a street sign that said _West Rd_.

There was a skinny guy about my age, working on a black Harley Davidson motorcycle. He looked gritty, his hands were greasy and his clothes were dirty with oil.

A deep male voice called from outside the alley.

_Hey, Matthew, you ready to go?_

_Yeah, lemme finish up my bike will ya?_

_Yeah, sure thing._

Matthew returned to his bike, and continued to work on it. He mumbled to himself, _One of these days I'm gonna live on my own, find a place to stay, and enjoy life, instead of having to live in a rugged place with these punks._

Then, I woke up. I sat up, and took a moment. What was that all about? I'll have to think about it later. I woke up Nico and Annabeth and we prepared to leave for Clarion Academy.

We drove through the city and stopped at a breakfast diner. We got our food, and talked about what we should do next.

"So why don't we start by asking for directions?" Annabeth suggested.

"We don't need…" Nico started.

"Nico, c'mon we've got to find Rachel…"I looked at Annabeth. She was staring at me quite intently.

"…I mean, for, you know, to find out the prophecy," I said.

We finished eating and asked some folks if they knew where the school was. They explained to us the directions and we went on our way.

We drove around and found the academy. It had a impressively large campus, and the place was kept in order. I drove into the parking lot, and found a place near the entrance.

Together, we found our way to the office. Inside was a secretary, stacking papers and filing folders.

"Hi," I said kindly," is Rachel Dare here?"

Her voice blew me away. She had a deep croaky tone that sounded like she ate a bunch of cough drops and raked her throat with a fork.

"Rachel? She's having her break in the commons area," she said.

"And where might that be, may I ask?"

"Turn right at the end of the hall, you can't miss it," she pointed out.

"Alright, thank you m'am," I said. We briskly walked out the office and hurried to the commons area. We looked for Rachel in the midst of all the students and I spotted her talking with friends.

I walked behind her and tapped on the shoulder.

"What is it?" she said, turning around. Her expression changed when she saw me.

"Percy. What a surprise."

"Rachel, we need to talk," I said. I tried not to sound _too_ serious because there were a few girls staring at me. I would hate to lose my cool.

"Alright," she turned to her friends and said, "be right back."

We walked back to where Annabeth and Nico were.

"So what's up?" Rachel asked?

"There have been a lot of strange things happening lately," explained Annabeth. "Constant monster attacks, in the camp and everywhere else."

Rachel was taking this all in and finally said, "You want me to reveal the prophecy right?"

"Actually," I said, "that's exactly what we want you to do."

Then, Nico pushed through. "So, _you're_ the Oracle, eh?" Rachel looked really confused. Nico looked her up and down. Then, he turned to me.

"She's hot," he blurted. Annabeth and Rachel covered their mouths, but I couldn't tell if it was either from laughter or from disgust.

"Nico," I said, "you don't just say that to a girl!"

"Umm, that's, uh, very nice of you," Rachel started to say.

"Alright, c'mon Nico, enough foolishness!" Annabeth said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he said as he rolled his eyes. He jogged over to Rachel and stood by her, looking up at her with a big smile.

"Ok, so how does this work?" I said. "Do I just ask a question like I usually do?"

"Yep, just ask me a question," Rachel replied.

I took a deep breath. "What must I do to find out who is attacking us?" Annabeth quickly go out a pen and pencil from her bag.

Rachel's eyes began to glow green and a swift mist began to wrap around her. And then she spoke, with the same whispering voice of the oracle:

"_Two shall return, a friend and a foe,_

_To find a demigod, you must go._

_A deadly deal gone indeed awry,_

_And in the end, a death to die."_

The prophecy ended, and I had to catch Rachel from falling over. She had blacked out, but soon came back again.

Annabeth was repeating the prophecy to herself, trying to figure out the meaning.

"Cool," Nico said. "So who's dying?"

We all looked at him. "We don't know yet, Nico."

Rachel stood up and put her hand to her head.

"I need to get used to prophecy telling," she said.

"Well, that's all we needed," I said. "Thanks."

"Ok, no problem." Rachel replied.

"Come on guys," Annabeth said, "we should get going."

Nico and I nodded. "Thanks again," I said.

"Bye!" Nico called. We walked back to the car and got in. Then, we drove off after buckling ourselves in.

"So where to now?" asked Nico.

"We drive to Wisconsin," I answered.

"Wisconsin? I hear they have good cheese!" he exclaimed.

"Well, we're not going there for the _cheese_," said Annabeth, "There's someone there that we have to find. A son of Hermes."

"So that must be the demigod Rachel was talking about," said Nico. "Wanna hear a cheese joke?"

"NO!" Annabeth and I both shouted.

"Ok then. What do get when you cross Swiss cheese and Wisconsin?"

"This is gonna be a _long_ ride," exaggerated Annabeth.

"Swissconsin!" shouted Nico, and he burst out laughing, hugging his stomach.

"Definitely," I agreed. "Annabeth, can you find a route we can take to Wisconsin?"

She took out the map and studied it for a few minutes. Annabeth finally found a way and I followed her directions. We cut through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and a few more states before reaching the Wisconsin border line.

After hours of driving, we finally entered the state of Wisconsin and stopped at the Information Center of Wisconsin. We checked the kiosks for maps of the state. Fortunately, we found a detailed map of the small city of West Bend. There we found West Road.

"Wait, why West Road?" asked Annabeth.

"Because it was in my nightmare," I replied. "I saw a guy named Matthew, somewhere in these alleys, working on a bike. But, another man told him to get ready to leave."

"Well, we better get there before we lose 'em," said Nico.

"Okay, so let's head North, towards West Bend," I said.

We made our way over to West Bend, and on the way, we saw many beautiful sights and scenery. I guess Wisconsin wasn't only famous for its cheese.

We arrived at West Road, and slowly checked the alleyways and buildings. I pulled over to the side and we all got out of the car.

"Ok, let's split up, and find any signs that they've been here," I said. I went inside an alley and found something interesting.

There were empty oil cans on the ground and some scrap metal in a pile. I rummaged through the mess and found some familiar motorcycle parts, a bar handle, a headlight, and a bunch more stuff.

Annabeth came up behind me and said, "Hey, Percy. They've definitely been here. Look what I found." She held up a dirty newspaper. The headlines read, _Motorcycle gang raids stores in West Bend_.

"Well, come on. Let's get moving," I said.


	10. I Steal A God's Motorcycle

*10*

I Steal a God's Motorcycle

We ran to the car and rushed off to West Bend. Everyone strapped their selves in and I speeded down the highway. All of a sudden, sirens blared behind us, and flashing lights showed up on my rearview mirror.

"Oh, _man_," I moaned. "Mom's gonna kill me."

"Ha, sucks for you," teased Nico.

I slowed down and pulled over to the shoulder of the road. A cop riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle was following our tail. He kicked down the stand and approached the car.

I rolled down the window and awaited my ticket. The cop wore big aviator glasses and a usual black and white uniform. His badge glittered in the sunlight.

"Hello," he paused. "…Perseus." A pair of red dots glowed under those shades.

Suddenly, it hit me. "Ares," I scowled.

He sneered. "How'd you guess?" He went up in flames, but it quickly extinguished. He was now wearing a black leather jacket, black jeans, and combat boots. The aviators changed to red tinted wrap-around sunglasses.

"What do you want?" I shouted. I had a rage build up inside me. Ares always made people _real_ jumpy.

"Ares is here?" Nico said. Annabeth had a suspicious look on her face.

"Something's up," she muttered.

Ares looked at his police motorcycle and snapped his fingers. The bike lit up in flames and extinguished too. It changed to his usual black Harley Davidson with a flame paint job, shotgun holsters mounted on the side, and a seat made of human skin. "Oh, I just came by to make your life a little harder," he said.

"Well you already have," I said.

"Ok, good. I'll make it _worse_." He waved his hand and my car died, the keys floated out of the ignition and into his hand.

"Hey, give it back!" I demanded.

Ares tightened his grip on my keys. "Yeah, sure." He stuffed them in his pocket. "I'm officially impounding your car," he said.

"WHAT?" I screamed.

"Yep. It's 'cause you were _speeding_," he said. Out of nowhere, loud rumbling came from the distance. Then, a large motorcycle gang appeared in the distance.

I turned to Annabeth. "I want you to contact me through an IM," I told her.

"Wait, you're gonna do something stupid, aren't you?"

"Maybe," I said. The sound of the motorcycles grew louder. "Look, I've got no time, gotta go!" I threw the door open and pushed Ares aside.

"Hey, punk, where do you think you're going?" he shouted angrily. I ignored him and ran toward his bike. I jumped on and brought it to life. "Hey, that's my motorcycle!" His eyes burned a brighter red. I could see flames from the top of his sunglasses.

The motorcycle gang was here now, and I didn't have much time. I twisted the throttle, and I was off. Ares pointed his hands at me and flames erupted from his palms. I narrowly dodged the shooting flames and chased the motorcycle gang. I knew Matthew was in there somewhere, and I was gonna track him down.

I hoped Annabeth and Nico were doing fine. What the Hades am I talking about, no one is _ever _fine with Ares. Up ahead, the motorcycle rumble faded in the night. I rode up a little further searching for the gang. I stopped at a red light and still tried to look for Mathew. Then a guy pulled up next to me in another motorcycle.

It was _definitely_ Matthew. He was skinny with dark brown messy hair, and wore a black leather jacket and jeans.

"Hey I see you got a Harley Davidson," he said. He eyed the shotgun holsters.

"Yeah. What do you have there?" I asked him.

"A custom Harley. I built it myself. It'll smoke you anytime."

"You wanna prove it?"

"Are you challenging me?" he scoffed, as he revved the engine. I tightened my grip on the handlebars. This is gonna get a little rough.

I watched the street light. In a blink of an eye, the light turned green, and I pulled the throttle. I popped a wheelie and my tires squealed. Flames shot from my tires, like those Hot Wheels cars.

Matthew yelled and I heard a large explosion. I hit the brakes and turned around. What I saw were blazing fires and broken motorcycle parts, some of them in bits. I set Ares' motorcycle on the ground and ran towards Matthew.

He was scrambling out of the wreck and was slowly getting up. I helped him up and said, "Dude, are you okay?"

He pushed me away. "Yeah I'm fine. Flames from your exhaust blew up my gas tank. I worked on her for years man!"

"Look man, I'm sorry but I need to talk to you."

"Talk to me? You just blew me up!" He waved his hand at the burning motorcycle. He groaned and he held his right arm in pain.

I dug in my pocket for a bag of ambrosia. I offered a piece to him. "Here eat this, it'll make you feel better."

He looked at me, and ate the piece of ambrosia reluctantly. He chewed for a while and suddenly, his eyes widened.

"Wow, the pain is gone," he said, astonished. "What was that? A pain-killer?"

"No. It's ambrosia, food of the Greek gods."

"It's happening," he said. "It's really happening."

"What's happening?"

"I've had dreams, uh, nightmares. I was in a race with this guy, and my bike blew up. In another one, this man spoke to me. He said, _The time is near_…" Then he paused and looked me in the eye,"…_my son_.

Suddenly, a silver glow enveloped his body. He looked around frantically. Above him, appeared a caduceus.

Matthew looked at me with a straight face. "That's it. I'm the son of Hermes."

"Matthew," I said, "We need to go…now."

"What why?" he asked. I looked back. Ares would be here any minute now.

"Just c'mon!" Then, Annabeth drove up in my car and hit the brakes.

"Percy! Hurry up, Ares is getting fired up!" She got out the car and went around to the passenger side.

I turned around. Matthew was standing there, unaware of the danger. "Matthew!" I called. He looked up. "C'mon, get in!" He ran to the car, and I lowered the seat for him. He climbed in, and I got in myself.

I slammed the gas and we were off. I don't know where I was going, just that I need to get away.

I heard something like a flutter of birds' wings over the roar of my car. Suddenly, flock of birds pecked and scratched at my car. Good thing it can't get damaged, but I was still wondering what they were.

"Annabeth, what are those things?"

"I think they're the birds of Ares, Ornithes Areos."

"Well, we've gotta take 'em out!" I willed water to hit the birds. Water burst from fire hydrants and hit the birds with the speed of a train. Behind me, Nico yelled, "Percy, I'll pay you back one day!" I heard glass break and howling wind. I turned around and saw Nico get out the back window. He raised his arms, and jagged rocks popped up from the ground.

It definitely slowed them down, but more came. Then, arrows rained on the car.

"Where are the arrows coming from?" I yelled.

"Did I mention they can shoot arrows?" Annabeth said.

"Just _great_."

From my rearview mirror, I saw Nico draw his sword and deflect oncoming arrows.

"Nico, get in the car!" I ordered. I was nearing a sharp corner, and if Nico didn't get in the car, he would surely get badly injured, not just from the impact, but from the birds.

"Just a little longer!" he persisted.

"There's no time, get in now!" I couldn't keep it up any longer. I slammed the brakes, and Nico fell backward into the car. Immediately, I hit the accelerator and we were off again. I swerved right, just barely scraping the wall.

I tried hitting the birds again with water, but there were too many. Then, I had another crazy idea. But, it might just work.

There was a bridge not far from here. If I could make it there, than we could escape the birds.

Finally, the bridge came into view. I hoped this worked.

"Everyone put your seatbelts on!" Everyone did if they hadn't already. Color drained from Mathew's face.

I drove off the bridge and broke through the barriers.

"Percy, what are you doing?" screamed Annabeth.

"Brace yourselves!" I yelled. I stared making an air bubble around the car, and it formed just in time to hit the water.

We floated there underwater. Strength from my body slowly seeped away the longer we were underwater. Above us, the birds hovered, and they gave up and went away.

I commanded the water to lift us back to the bridge. A large spout of water raised us to the bridge and set us gently on the ground.

I opened the door and fell to the ground. I was too tired to think. I was passing out, and the last I saw was Annabeth's face over me. Then, I blacked out.

I woke up inside the car, in the passenger seat. Annabeth was driving, and Nico and Matthew were in the back. I struggled to sit straight and was completely exhausted.

"Wake up sleepy head, we're getting close to Camp," Annabeth said.

"How long have I been out?"

"8 hours," she said. "What you did last night really drained you of all your energy."

"Yeah that was awesome Percy!" complemented Nico.

"Thanks Nico." I felt a lump in my pocket. I pulled out the kippah I found, now crinkled and worn.

I handed it to Mathew. "I believe this belongs to you."

He stared at it for a while. "No thanks. You can keep it." He looked to the ground.

"But you're a Jew right?"

"Yes I am. But living with a gang, I was always made fun of for being Jew." He looked at me. "Since, I'm the son of Hermes, I guess I should become pagan."

I didn't really think about that. To me, the Greek gods weren't a religion anymore, they were a way of life now.

By now, I could see the Empire State Building tower over the city. We took the regular route to Camp Half-Blood and parked outside the Big House.

Chiron was standing on the porch, watching us get out the car.

"I see you have been traveling in style," he said.

I chuckled. "Yeah, it was a gift from my dad." I looked at the others, and turned back to Chiron. "Why don't we go inside? We need to talk."

We walked inside the house and took a seat.

"So, I presume this is Matthew?" he said, motioning his hand to Matthew.

"Yes, he is. Matthew this is Chiron." Matthew tried not to stare at Chiron's legs.

"Do not worry Matthew, I appreciate your politeness. I am a centaur, and this is how I am."

Matthew swallowed. "I'm sorry. Greek mythology is something I'm gonna have to get used to."

"Indeed, child," said Chiron. He looked at me. "Do you have the prophecy?"

"Um, yeah," I said. "Annabeth has it." She quickly opened her bag and took out a piece of paper. Chiron took it and read it out loud:

"_Two shall return, a friend and a foe,_

_To find a demigod, you must go._

_A deadly deal gone indeed awry,_

_And in the end, a death to die."_

Chiron folded the paper and put it in a desk drawer.

"The prophecy does sound grave. It is something we must look into and pay attention to carefully," he said.

"Well, we will find out soon," I said. "But, I guess you should talk to Matthew."

"Ah yes," Chiron said, "we must discuss about being a demigod."

We left the Big House and stepped outside. Annabeth hugged me and ran off to her cabin. Nico went back to his cabin and rocked out with Hunter.

I saw Mary hanging out with some guys, having a nice chat. The guys were all crowded around her, about 3 or 4 of them. Man, Mary must be a "dude" magnet.

Mary saw me and stood up. Awkwardly, all the guys stood up, all at the same time. She said something to them, and she ran towards me. All of them looked straight at me, with a deadly glare.

"Hey Percy, how was the quest?" Mary said.

"It was…" I thought about the Thespian lion, the wreck, and the encounter with Ares. "…fantastic." I said.

"Great!"

"I see those guys have an eye on you," I joked.

Mary gasped. "Aw, come on Percy!" At that moment, the door of the Big House opened, and out came Matthew.

Matthew saw Mary and froze. So did Mary. Mary managed a small, "Hi."

"Hey," Matthew replied. Matthew walked past Mary and jogged to the Hermes cabin. Before he walked inside, he took another look at Mary.

"Who's he?" asked Mary.

"Oh he's Matthew. He didn't tell me his last name though."

Mary smiled. "He's cute."

"And you're telling me this why?"

Mary blushed. "I don't know, I just... Nevermind." Then a girl's voice called Mary's name.

"Mary! Mary, where are you?"

"I'm over here!" A girl about our age walked up beside Mary. She had brown curly hair and light skin.

"Oh, who's this?" she asked.

"This is Percy Jackson," Mary said. "Percy, this is Ani from the Artemis cabin." Mary said it funny, like _Ahh-nee_.

"Wait, you mean, Annie? Right?" I said.

"No, it's Ani, like short o, you dimwit!" said the girl.

"Oh, sorry," I said.

"It's ok," said Mary. "She hates it when people call her _Annie_."

"Well, it's been nice meeting you, I guess."

"Don't worry, I'm not always mean. I'm actually a very happy person!"

"Oh ok. Well, catch ya later!" I walked to the cabin area, and I found Mike standing by the Apollo cabin.

"Hey Mike, what's up?"

"It's the fire, look." He was looking at what looked like a golden barbeque grill. It was a fire pit on a stand, about 3 feet tall. The fire burned weakly, but still had a flare.

"What is it?" I asked Mike.

"It's the fire of Apollo. The Apollo guys made it up, with a little help from Apollo himself. The fire predicts the future. The brighter it burns, the better the future. The weaker it is, the future becomes worse. Right now, it's not looking too good."

It wasn't looking good at all. Something's going to happen. Something _real_ bad. Then, a bright golden light shined from behind us. We turned around, and standing there was Apollo.

"Hello, boys," he said.

"Hey there Apollo. What brings you here?" I asked.

"Well, I came to give you a message…from Ares." Oh this can't be good. Apollo took out a piece of paper and cleared his throat.

"I'll try and not sound so brutal," he said. "_Dear, Percy Jackson. I am going to kill you and your loved ones because of what you've done to my bike. I'm gonna send the hellhounds on you and drive a spear through your heart, and feed it to the harpies._"

Apollo held out the piece of paper and it lit on fire. It was now, ashes and had disintegrated.

"Well, on _that_ happy note, I also came to do something else."

"What's that?" Mike asked.

"I want to give you something," said Apollo. He snapped his fingers and what appeared were a golden compound bow and a brown leather quiver. "These are yours now."

"Wow! This is amazing! But, why me?"

"Because, you …are my son." Then, a golden glow began to wrap around Mike. An image began to appear above Mike. When it became clear, what I saw was a lyre.

When it was all over, Mike's breath was taken away.

"So, I'm your son. I'm the son of Apollo!"

"That's right kiddo! Now, let me tell you a little more about the bow. It has been magically altered so that the gold doesn't weigh a ton, but instead, just a few pounds. That quiver you're holding is also magical. It can create any type of arrow you want. Fire arrows, a water arrow, even a heat-seeking arrow!"

"Wow, that's awesome!" Mike exclaimed.

"Wait," I said. "How is Mike pure Asian, but you're white?"

"Well, I'm a god. I thought a pure Asian would be an interesting addition to the family!" Apollo patted Mike on the back.

"Well, I must go, duty calls!"

"Cover your eyes!" I quickly told Mike. In a flash of light, Apollo was gone. He had turned into his divine form, and if any non-immortal saw him, they would have been incinerated.

After the flash faded, Mike became _really_ excited.

"Can you believe it?" Mike said. "I'm the son of Apollo!"

"Yes you are Mike, yes you are." Mike ran to the Big House to tell Chiron the news and was immediately moved to the Apollo cabin.

Annabeth ran towards me and asked, "What just happened? What was Apollo talking about?"

"Apollo just claimed Mike as his son," I said mildly.

"Wow, that's great!" said Annabeth. "Man, two demigods were claimed today, first Matthew, now Mike."

"But that just makes it harder for them to fend against monsters."

Annabeth now became serious. "Oh yeah you're right."

_BOOM!_ An explosion sounded over by Thalia's Pine Tree. Annabeth and I looked to see what the problem. What we saw, was a _very big problem_.

On top of the hill, Peleus and another monster were fighting. I squinted and saw the Chimera spitting flames and clawing at Peleus. Standing in the back was Echidna in her true form.


End file.
